U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  SOILS— MILTON  WHITNEY,  Chief. 

LN  COOPERATION  WITH  THE  KENTUCKY  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION 
A.  M.  PETER,  ACTING  DIRECTOR.  ' 


SOIL  SURVEY  OF  SHELBY  COUNTY, 
KENTUCKY. 


A^s;   A  MAP  LIB 

^  ^^i    Vertical  Fil' 

0  ^^c  BY 


0  ^ 

0  ^Bi  '^  '  ^""^  DUYNE,  InCharge,  and  L.  R.  SCHOEmiANN, 

2  ^Hi  '  ^  Department  OF  Agriculture,  AND  S.  D.  AVERITT 

c  ^=i  '^  ^^E  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


H.  H.  BENNETT,  Inspector,  Southern  Dxvision. 


[Advance  Sheets— Field  Operations  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  1916.] 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNAIENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1919. 


BUREAU  OF  SOILS. 


MixTON  Whitnky,  Chief  of  Bureau. 
AxBEBT  G.  Rice,  Chief  Clerk. 

SOIL  SUEVET. 

CuETis  F.  Maebut,  In  Chargt. 

G.   W.   Baumann,   Executive   Assistant. 

COMMITTEE  ON   THE  CORRELATION  AND  CLASSIFICATION  OF   SOILS. 

CuETis  F.  Marbut,  Chairman. 
Hugh  H.   Bennett,   Inspector,   Southern   Division. 
W.  Edward  Heaen,  Inspector,  Soutliern  Division. 
Thomas  D.  Rice,  Inspector,  Nortliern  Division. 
W.  E.  McLendon,  Inspector,  Northern  Division. 
Macy  H.  Lapham,  Inspector,  Western  Division. 

J.  W.  McKebicheb,  Secretary. 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

BUREAU  OF  SOILS— MILTON  WHITNEY,  Chief. 

IN  COOPERATION  WITH  THE  KENTUCKY  AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION, 
A.  M.  PETER,  ACTING  DIRECTOR. 


SOIL  SURVEY  OF  SHELBY  COUNTY, 
KENTUCKY. 


BY 


CORNELIUS  VAN  DUYNE,  In  Charge,  and  LR.SCHOEmiANN, 

OF  THE  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  S.  D.  A'VERITT, 

OF  THE  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


H.  H.  BENNETT,  Inspector,  Southern  Division. 


[Adrance  Sheets — Field  Operations  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  1916.] 


"WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1919. 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Bureau  or  Soils, 
Washington^  D.  C,  April  2,  1918. 

Sir  :  In  the  extension  of  the  soil  survey  in  the  State  of  Kentucky 
work  was  undertaken  in  Shelby  County  and  completed  during  the 
field  season  of  1916. 

The  accompanying  report  and  map  cover  this  survey  and  are  sub- 
mitted for  publication  as  advance  sheets  of  Field  Operations  of 
the  Bureau  of  Soils  for  1916,  as  authorized  by  law. 
Respectfully, 

Milton  Whitney, 

Chief  of  Bureau, 
Hon.  D.  F.  Houston, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture, 


URL 


^c/  3-A-^^^^ 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
Soil  Survey  of  Shelby  County,  Kentucky.     By  Corneliub  Van  Duyne 
and  L.  R.  Schoenmann,  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  and 

S.  D.  Averitt,  of  the  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 5 

Description  of  the  area 5 

Climate 9 

Agriculture 11 

Present  agriculture 14 

Soils 29 

Shelby  villa  silt  loam 34 

Cincinnati  silt  loam 40 

Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam 45 

Eden  silt  loam 45 

Eden  clay 47 

Hagerstown  silt  loam 50 

Elk  silt  loam 51 

Huntington  silt  loam 52 

Summary 52 

Chemical  Composition  of  the  Soils  of  Shelby  County,  Kentucky.     By 

S.  D.  Averitt,  of  the  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station...  55 

Introduction 55 

Shelbyville  silt  loam 56 

Cincinnati  silt  loam 57 

Cincinnati  silt  loam,  rolling  phase 57 

Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam 58 

Eden  silt  loam 58 

Eden  clay 58 

Hagerstown  silt  loam 59 

Huntington  silt  loam  and  Elk  silt  loam 59 

Permanent  fertility 59 

Summary  of  results  of  analyses 60 

Method  of  sampling  the  soils 60 

Locations  of  samples  analyzed 64 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


plates. 
Plate  I.  Fig.  1-Characteristic  undulating  surface  of  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam. 
Fig.  2-Patchy  cultivation  of  some  of  the  more  badly  eroded  land  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  county 32 


Fig.  1.  Sketch  map  showing  location  of  the  Shelby  County  area,  Kentucky. 

MAP. 

Soil  map,  Shelby  County  sheet,  Kentucky. 


Fig.  1. — Sketch  map  showing 
location  of  the  Shelby  County 
area,  Kentucky. 


SOIL  SURVEY  OF  SHELBY  COUNTY,  KENTUCKY. 

By  CORNELIUS  VAN  DUYNE,  In  Charge,  and  L.  R.  SCHOENMANN,  of  the 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  S.  D.  AVERITT,  of  the  Kentucky  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station.— Area  Inspected  by  HUGH  H.  BENNETT. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    AREA. 

Shelby  County,  Kentucky,  lies  in  the  north-central  part  of  the 
State  nearly  midway  between  the  cities  of  Louisville  and  Lexington. 
Oldham  and  Henry  Counties  bound  it  on  the  north,  Franklin  and 
Anderson  Counties  on  the  east,  Spencer  County  on  the  south,  and 
Jefferson  County  on  the  west.  The  county  is  irregular  in  shape,  with 
a  length  and  width  through  Shelbyville, 
near  its  center,  of  18  and  22  miles,  respec- 
tively. Its  total  area  is  382  square  miles 
or  244,480  acres. 

Shelby  County  embraces  a  portion  of 
an  extensive  general  phj^siographic  divi- 
sion of  central  and  north-central  Ken- 
tucky, known  as  the  Lexington  Plain. 
Viewed  as  a  whole,  this  is  an  undulating,  gently  sloping  plain.  In 
Shelby  County  the  slope  is  toward  the  west. 

The  degree  of  dissection  of  this  plain  varies  in  different  parts,  and 
the  county  may  be  divided  according  to  the  local  relief,  determined 
largely  by  erosion,  into  three  divisions.  These  are,  as  a  rule,  fairly 
well  defined,  although  topography  typical  of  one  division  may  be 
found  within  the  other  two,  and  vice  versa.  The  divisions  are  as 
follows:  (1)  The  rolling  to  hilly  region  in  the  eastern  and  south- 
eastern part  of  the  county;  (2)  the  undulating  to  broadly  rolling 
region,  occupying  the  central  part;  (3)  the  rolling  region  of  the  ex- 
treme western  and  an  area  South  of  Jeptha  Knob  in  the  southeastern 
part. 

The  most  prominent  topogi'aphic  feature  of  the  county  is  Jeptha 
Knob,  which  is  visible  from  nearly  every  ridge  or  hill  crest  and  from 
whose  summit  may  be  seen  the  greater  part  of  the  county.  Jeptha 
Knob  is  located  just  south  of  Clay  Village  and  about  0  miles  east  of 
Shelbyville.  It  rises  rather  abruptly  from  the  general  level  of  the 
plain  and  attains  an  elevation  of  1,185  feet,^  or  about  300  feet  above 
the  surrounding  country.  The  base  of  the  knob  has  a  general  cir- 
cular shape  nearly  2  miles  in  diameter.     The  slopes  are  compara- 


iW.  H.  Linney,  Geology  of  Shelby  County,  Ky.     Geol.  Survey. 


6  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

tively  steep  and  are  deeply  cut  by  the  heads  of  the  several  branches 
which  rise  upon  them.  Four  flat  mesalike  areas  form  the  highest 
elevations  on  the  knob.  Several  broad  low  outliers  extend  northward 
and  northwestward  for  short  distances  beyond  the  limits  of  the  knob. 

The  rolling  to  hilly  region  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  com- 
prises a  belt  from  2  to  6  miles  wide  extending  southward  from  the 
Henry  County  line  to  a  point  east  of  Waddy,  where  it  swings  south- 
westward  and  then  west,  leaving  the  county  about  3  miles  southwest 
of  Southville.  This  belt  narrows  opposite  Bagdad  and  again  at 
Waddy.  It  is  widest  in  the  basin  of  Sixmile  Creek  in  the  north- 
eastern corner,  and  also  in  the  southeastern  corner  north  of  Mount 
Eden.  The  most  diversified  topography  of  the  county  occurs  within 
the  limits  of  this  region.  It  consists  of  the  thoroughly  and  rather 
deeply  dissected  country  within  the  basin  of  the  Kentucky  and  Salt 
Rivers,  where  erosion  has  been  very  active  and  has  met  with  only 
moderate  resistance  from  the  underljang  rocks.  The  valleys  are 
narrow  and  V-shaped,  wnth  steep  but  seldom  precipitous  sides.  The 
small  laterals  of  these  rivers  head  abruptly  and  deepen  quickly,  so 
that  there  is  usually  a  well-defined  line  between  this  region  and  the 
one  to  the  west.  The  stream  channels  are  from  100  to  300  feet  below 
the  crests  of  the  ridges. 

The  main  ridges  divide  and  subdivide,  becoming  narrower  and 
lower  in  the  direction  of  the  stream  flow.  They  have  a  marked  com- 
mon level  within  the  same  general  section,  which  indicates  the  former 
plainlike  character  of  the  region.  The  drainage  system  is  dendritic 
in  ground  plan  and  the  total  length  of  stream  channel,  large  and 
small,  is  large.  There  is  practically  no  bottom  land  within  the 
region.  The  largest  streams,  such  as  Big  Beech  and  Sixmile  Creeks, 
have  a  widely  meandering  course,  with  little  or  no  bottom  or  terrace 
areas  along  them,  the  steep  valley  sides  rising  as  a  rule  directly  from 
the  stream  beds. 

The  undulating  to  broadly  rolling  region  of  the  central  and 
western  parts  of  the  county  embraces  the  least  diversified  country. 
It  is  the  largest  of  the  three  regions  and  covers  about  three-fourths 
of  the  county.  It  lies  between  the  other  regions.  The  divides  are 
broad,  long,  and  smooth,  the  valleys  comparatively  broad  and  shal- 
low^, with  slopes  wiiich  merge  gradually  with  the  ridge  tops.  The 
main  streams  are  few  in  number  and  flow  in  a  general  southerly  di- 
rection, some  of  them  crossing  the  county.  Their  valleys  along  the 
upper  courses  are  small,  shallow,  and  comparatively  narrow,  but 
gradually  widen  and  deepen  in  the  direction  of  the  stream  flow, 
though  never  becoming  very  wide.  Near  the  Sj^encer  County  line 
the  surface  is  more  uneven.  Here  in  places  short  steep  slopes  face 
the  stream  courses.  The  lateral  streams,  though  fairly  numerous, 
are  short,  have  few  tributaries,  and  are  often  merely  shallow,  incon- 


SOIL    SURVEY    OF    SHELBY    COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  7 

spicuous  draws,  in  which  water  flows  only  after  heavy  rains.  The 
creeks  flow  for  the  most  part  over  solid  rock,  with  here  and  there 
accumulations  of  gravel  and  cobbles.  These  large  creeks  have  a 
medium  gradient  and  flow  in  channels  from  50  to  100  feet  below  the 
general  level  of  the  surrounding  country.  In  the  southern  part  of 
the  county  they  follow  broadly  meandering  courses,  bordered  here 
and  there  with  narrow  bodies  of  bottom  and  terrace  land. 

The  rolling  region  of  tlie  western  and  southeastern  parts  of  the 
county  includes  areas  whose  topography  is  intermediate  between 
those  of  the  other  two  regions.  It  occurs  as  practically  a  continuous 
belt  on  the  west  side  of  the  county  and  includes  nearly  all  of  that 
part  of  the  county  lying  in  the  Floyds  Fork  drainage.  In  addition 
it  embraces  another  area  in  the  southeastern  quarter  of  the  county 
south  of  Jeptha  Knob  and  east  of  Guists  Creek  and  the  lower  por- 
tion of  Brashears  Creek.  Floyds  Fork  forms  the  county  boundary 
for  a  few  miles  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county.  Its  valley, 
the  greater  part  of  which  is  outside  of  this  county,  has  lost  its  plain- 
like character  and  is  a  conspicuous  topographic  feature,  being  unlike 
any  other  valley  in  or  near  the  county.  A  profile  transverse  to  the 
longer  axis  is  that  of  a  widely  spreading  V.  The  valley  slopes  are 
moderately  short  and  are  traversed  by  numerous  tributaries.  The 
divides  range  from  broad  and  rolling  to  moderately  narrow  and  irreg- 
ular-. They  become  conspicuously  lower  toward  the  west  and  thus 
give  the  marked  valley  topography  to  the  Floyds  Fork  Basin.  The 
streams,  which  are  intermittent,  have  a  moderately  steep  gradient 
with  channels  in  the  bedrock. 

The  southeastern  area  of  this  division  varies  somewhat  in  topo- 
graphy from  the  above  description.  It  represents  a  dissected  plain 
of  topography  intermediate  between  that  in  the  first  division  and  in 
the  second  division.  The  valleys  are  narrow,  V-shaped  and  steep 
sided,  the  divides  broad  and  undulating.  The  valleys  and  streams 
are  like  those  in  the  regions  first  described  and  the  divides  like  those 
of  the  second  division.  The  valley  slopes  break  abruptly  from  the 
undulating  tops  of  the  ridges. 

In  the  first  topographic  division  the  ridges  range  in  elevation  from 
800  to  900  feet  above  sea  level  while  the  beds  of  the  larger  streams 
are  from  620  to  750  feet  above  sea  level  where  they  cross  the  county 
line.  To  the  w^est  in  the  second  division  the  highest  determined  ele- 
vations, aside  from  Jeptha  Knob,  are  at  Bagdad,  912  feet,  and  Chris- 
tianburg,  903  feet.  The  divide  on  which  these  places  are  located 
doubtless  increases  in  elevation  toward  the  north  so  that  higher  ele- 
vations are  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Pleasureville.  It  is  believed  that 
the  highest  elevations  in  the  county,  aside  from  Jeptha  Knob  (1,185 
feet  A.  T.),  are  found  along  the  Henry  County  line  south w^est,  south, 
and  southeast  of  Eminence,  Henry  County.    Other  elevations  of  in- 


8  FIELD    OPERATIONS    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF    SOILS,    1916. 

terest  are  Shelbyville,  750  feet ;  Mulberry,  849  feet ;  and  Simpsonville, 
825  feet.  On  the  western  side  of  the  county  the  hills  range  from  700 
to  750  feet  in  elevation  while  the  stream  courses  cross  the  line  at 
elevations  of  620  to  680  feet.  The  lowest  known  elevations  are  Avhere 
Floyds  Fork  crosses  the  Shelby-Jefferson  line  near  the  northwest 
corner,  where  Cane  Run  crosses  the  same  line  near  the  southwest 
corner,  and  where  Sixmile  Creek  crosses  the  Shelby-Henry  line  in 
the  northeast  corner,  all  approximately  620  feet. 

Although  all  of  the  drainage  from  the  county  eventually  reaches 
the  Ohio  River,  it  follows  rather  widely  different  courses.  The 
southeastern  part  is  drained  southwestward  by  Salt  River  and 
the  northwestern  part  northward  by  streams  tributary  to  the  Ken- 
tucky. The  divide  between  the  two  systems  runs  across  the  county 
in  an  irregular  line. 

Drainage  courses  ramify  to  practically  every  farm  in  all  parts  of 
the  county.  Poorly  drained  areas  of  any  considerable  size  are  rare. 
Not  all  of  the  county  is  equally  w^ell  drained,  however,  as  conditions, 
degree  of  slope,  depth  to  rock,  and  the  structure  of  subsoil  and  sub- 
stratum cause  local  variations  in  its  thoroughness.  In  addition  to 
surface  drainage,  a  considerable  flow*  of  water  is  carried  by  subter- 
ranean channels  in  the  underlying  limestone  formation. 

Both  perennial  and  intermittent  streams  exist  in  the  county.  The 
streams  are  slowly  deepening  their  channels  through  the  processes 
of  solution  and  erosion.  After  rains  the  streams  of  the  hill  sec- 
tion carry  abundant  sediment  but  those  of  the  central  portion  are 
usually  clear  or  are  only  slightly  muddy.  AVater  power  sufficient 
to  operate  grist  and  flour  mills  exists  along  a  number  of  these  streams, 
and  such  mills  played  an  important  part  in  the  agricultural  develop- 
ment of  the  county.  At  present  practically  no  water  power  is  de- 
veloped within  the  county. 

Shelby  County  was  formed  from  a  part  of  Jefferson  County  in 
1792.  Territory  now  included  in  Franklin,  Henr}',  Gallatin,  Oldham, 
and  Spencer  counties  has  since  been  cut  off.  The  earliest  recorded  set- 
tlement was  in  1779,  near  the  present  site  of  Shelbyville.  Early  immi- 
gration was  slow\  Most  of  the  settlers  came  from  the  Eastern 
States,  especially  from  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania.  The 
present  population  consists  chiefly  of  the  descendants  of  the  early 
settlers. 

According  to  the  United  States  census  the  population  of  the  county 
in  1880  was  16,813;  in  1890,  16,521;  in  1900,  18,340;  in  1910,  18,04i. 
In  1850  the  white  population  was  given  as  10,289  and  the  colored  as 
6,617,  a  total  of  16,906,  There  has  thus  been  only  a  comparatively 
small  increase  in  the  last  70  years.  In  1910,  the  rural  population  was 
14,629,  or  81.1  per  cent  of  the  total  population.    There  was  a  slight 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  9 

increase  in  the  urban  population  and  a  somewhat  larger  decrease  in 
the  rural  poi^ulation  during  the  preceding  decade.  The  rural  popu- 
lation, which  is  34.9  per  square  mile,  is  evenly  distributed  over  the 
count3^ 

Shelbyville,  the  county  seat  and  largest  town,  had  a  population  of 
3,412  in  1910,  It  is  centrally  located  and  is  the  most  important  trad- 
ing and  shipping  point  of  the  county.  It  is  strictly  a  residential 
town.  Waddy,  with  a  population  of  254 ;  Bagdad,  185 ;  Simpsonville, 
184;  Cropper,  159;  Christianburg,  140;  Finchville,  100;  and  Hatton, 
are  towns  and  commercial  centers  of  local  importance.  Harrison- 
ville,  Graefenberg,  Clay  Village,  Southville,  Jacksonville,  Peytona, 
Chestnut  Grove,  and  Toddspoint  are  small  trading  points  lying  off 
the  railroads.  Mount  Eden  and  Pleasureville  are  partly  within  the 
county.  Eminence,  lying  about  a  mile  beyond  the  line  in  Henry 
County,  affords  marketing  and  shipping  facilities  to  quite  an  area 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  county. 

Shelby  County  is  reached  by  lines  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville 
Eailroad  system.  The  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad  also  operates 
through  trains  over  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  tracks.  Besides  these 
steam  roads,  the  electric  line,  Louisville  &  Interurban,  maintains 
frequent  passenger  and  freight  service.  No  part  of  the  county  is  more 
than  10  miles  from  a  station  or  shipping  point  on  the  lines  of  one  or 
another  of  these  systems.  Shelby  County  has  a  large  mileage  of  pub- 
lic roads,  nearly  all  of  which  are  surfaced  with  stone  and  are  kept  in 
good  repair,  but  the  earth  roads  are  in  a  less  satisfactory  condition. 

The  farm  products  are  usually  sold  to  local  dealers,  Shelbyville 
being  the  principal  marketing  and  shipping  point  within  the  county. 
Milk  and  cream  are  shipped  in  large  quantities  to  Louisville;  mules 
are  shipped  tp  the  southern  markets;  and  Burley  tobacco  is  packed 
at  Shelbyville  for  shipment  to  outside  manufacturing  points.  Near- 
by markets  outside  the  county  include  Louisville,  which  is  only 
30  miles  distant  from  the  center  of  the  county;  Lexington,  approxi- 
mately 50  miles;  and  Cincinnati,  about  120  miles  away. 

Rural  free  delivery  routes  serve  practical!}'  all  parts  of  the  county. 
Rural  and  long-distance  telephone  service  is  available  throughout  the 
county.  The  country  districts  are  well  supplied  with  schools,  and 
graded  and  high  schools  are  maintained  in  the  several  towns. 

CLIMATE. 

The  climate  of  Shelby  County  is  temperate.  The  winter  is  of 
moderate  duration  and,  while  the  weather  conditions  are  more  or 
less  changeable,  periods  of  excessively  cold  weather  are  usually 
short.  Snow  may  fall  during  the  months  of  December  to  March, 
inclusive,  but  seldom  stays  on  the  ground  for  any  considerable  length 
56266°— 19 2 


10 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 


of  time.  The  summers  are  long  and  warm,  with  hot  spells  seldom 
lasting  more  than  a  few  days.  As  a  rule  the  nights  are  cool.  The 
mean  annual  precipitation,  which  is  fairly  evenly  distributed 
throughout  the  year,  is  44.8  inches,  affording  sufficient  rainfall  for 
agriculture  without  irrigation.  The  range  in  annual  precipitation  is 
from  32.18  inches  to  65.45  inches.  The  average  annual  snowfall  is 
20.8  inches. 

The  average  date  of  the  last  killing  frost  in  the  spring  is  April  15 
and  of  the  first  in  the  fall  is  October  17,  giving  a  growing  season  of 
180  days.  The  dates  of  earliest  and  latest  killing  frosts  in  fall  and 
spring,  respectively,  are  September  22  and  May  22. 

The  accompanying  table,  compiled  from  the  records  of  the  Weather 
Bureau  station  at  Shelbyville,  giving  the  normal  monthly,  seasonal, 
and  annual  temperature  and  precipitation,  represents  fairly  the  con- 
ditions prevailing  over  the  county,  as  the  station  is  not  only  centrally 
located  but  there  are  no  physiographic  features  to  cause  marked 
differences  in  different  parts  of  the  county : 


Normal   monthly,  seasonal,  and  annual   temperature  and  precipitation   at 

Shelbyville. 


Temperature. 

Precipitation. 

Month. 

Mean. 

Absolute 
maxi- 
mum. 

Absolute 
mini- 
mum. 

Mean. 

Total 
amount 
for  the 
driest 
vear 
(i904). 

Total 
amount 
for  the 

vi'ettpst 

vear 

(1890). 

Snow, 
average 
depth.i 

December 

'F. 
35.9 
33.7 
34.0 

'F. 
69 
76 

74 

*F. 
-11 

-15 
-23 

Inches. 
3.66 
3.97 
3.69 

Inches. 
3.56 
3.45 
3.29 

Inches. 
3.74 
7.12 
7.63 

Inches. 
3.7 

4.6 

5.2 

Winter 

34.5 

76 

-23 

11.23 

10.30 

18.49 

13.5 

45.3 
54^9 
65.0 

92 
93 

102 

-  3 
22 

28 

4.91 
3.03 
4.01 

6.08 
2.73 
1.23 

10.60 
3.71 
3.85 

4.7 

0.7 

May 

0.5 

Spring 

55.1 

102 

-  3 

11.95 

10.04 

18.16 

5.9 

June 

73.9 
77.1 
75.5 

105 
107 
104 

41 
46 
44 

4.70 
4.20 
3.03 

3.31 
2.30 
3.53 

9.66 
3.69 
5.34 

0 

July 

0 

August 

0 

75.5 

107 

41 

11.93 

9.14 

18.69 

0 

September 

69.5 
56.4 
43.9 

103 
94 

80 

28 
18 
8 

2.89 
2.13 
3.95 

1.87 
.44 
.39 

1.69 
3.28 
5.14 

0 

October 

T. 

November 

1.4 

Fall 

56.6 

103 

8 

8.97 

2.70 

10.11 

1.4 

Year 

55.4 

107 

-23 

44.08 

32.18 

65.45 

20.8 

Snowfall  taken  from  the  records  of  the  Weather  Bureau  station  at  Lexington,  Fayette  County. 


SOIL  SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY. 


11 


AGRICULTURE. 

Agriculture  has  been  the  chief  industry  of  Shelby  County  from 
the  earliest  settlement.  The  early  agriculture  was  self-sustaining, 
only  such  products  being  grown  as  were  needed  to  feed  and  clothe 
the  settlers.  Corn  and  other  cereals,  flax  used  to  make  clothing,  and 
garden  vegetables  were  the  chief  products.  Live  stock  early  became 
of  some  importance. 

By  1792  the  population  had  increased  sufficiently  to  warrant  the 
organization  of  a  county  government  and  the  increased  crop  produc- 
tion made  it  necesary  to  seek  outside  markets  for  disposal  of  the 
surplus.  AVheat  early  became  an  article  of  export,  being  shipped  in 
boats  on  the  Ohio  River.  Cattle  were  raised  in  numbers  and  driven 
to  distant  markets.  Grist  mills  were  early  established.  Agriculture, 
however,  was  and  has  continued  to  be  the  chief  source  of  income. 

A  fertile  soil,  favorable  topographic  and  climatic  conditions,  and 
the  comparative  ease  of  clearing  the  land  were  the  main  factors  in 
the  early  agricultural  development.  Railroad  building  which  began 
in  the  early  fifties  further  stimulated  growth.  At  this  time  corn 
and  wheat  were  still  the  chief  crops,  while  tobacco,  which  up  to  this 
period  had  been  grown  almost  solely  for  home  consumption,  became  an 
article  of  export.  Live-stock  raising  had  assumed  greater  import- 
ance and  dairying  became  a  growing  industry. 

The  character  of  the  agriculture  and  the  general  changes  which 
have  taken  place  within  the  last  30  years  or  more  may  be  readily 
seen  upon  consultation  of  the  several  tables  compiled  from  reports  of 
the  Federal  census.  Briefly,  the  farming  has  always  been,  along 
general  lines  with  a  tendency  in  the  last  two  or  three  decades  toward 
a  specialization  in  the  production  of  tobacco  as  a  money  crop,  and 
toward  the  extension  of  the  live-stock  and  dairy  industries.  In  the 
last  few  years  there  has  been  an  increased  interest  in  farming,  and  in 
maintaining  and  increasing  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  by  better 
methods  of  cultivation. 

The  following  table  gives  the  total  number  of  farms  in  Shelby 
County,  their  average  size  and  their  relation  to  the  total  area  of  the 
county,  also  the  improved  land  per  farm,  as  given  in  the  Census 
Reports  1880  to  1910,  inclusive: 


Land  and  farm 

areas  of  Shelby  County. 

Year. 

Number 
of  farms. 

Proportion 

ofto'talarea 

of  county 

in  farms. 

Average 
size  of 
farms. 

Improved  land  in 
farms. 

Proportion 
of  land  in 
county  im- 
proved. 

1880 

1890 

1900 

1910 

1,625 
1,513 
1,997 
2,301 

Per  cent. 
85.3 
80.7 

85.7 
87.1 

A cres. 
143.4 
146.0 
117.0 
103.8 

Acres. 
112.5 
116.0 
103.0 
94.1 

Per  cent. 

78.5 
79.8 
88.0 
90.7 

Per  cent. 
67.0 
64.3 
75.4 
79.2 

12 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF    THE   BUEEAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 


A  study  of  the  above  table  shows  that  agriculture  was  exten- 
sively developed  prior  to  1880,  that  there  has  been  a  marked  increase 
in  the  number  of  farms,  in  the  percentage  of  total  area  in  farms, 
and  in  the  percentage  of  improved  land  in  farms  in  the  last  two 
decades.  Also  that  there  has  been  a  decrease  during  the  same  period 
in  the  average  size  of  the  farms  and  in  the  acreage  of  improved  land 
per  farm.  During  the  period  covered  by  the  table  there  has  been 
an  increase  of  12.2  per  cent  in  the  proportion  of  improved  land  in 
farms.  These  figures  show  a  normal  condition  in  a  rather  old  settled 
agricultural  county,  with  a  slowly  increasing  population. 

The  following  table  gives  the  acreage  and  production  of  the  prin- 
cipal crops  of  the  county  as  reported  by  the  last  four  censuses — 1880, 
1890,  1900,  and  1910 : 

Acreage  and  prodnciion  of  the  principal  crops. 


Crop. 

1910 

1900 

1890 

1880 

Cora 

Acres. 
31,584 
12.862 

19,868 

9,035 

1,840 

1,404 

471 

2,609 

Bushels. 
1,133,885 

95,346 
Tom. 

22,001 
Pounds. 
9,314,692 

A  ores. 
32,9.54 
31,435 

11,639 

6,430 

1,582 

573 

278 

449 

Bushels. 

1,00.3,240 
399,460 
Tom. 
11,791 

Pounds. 

6,465,370 

Acres. 
33,310 
21,062 

11,171 

3,767 

7,601 

1,3.83 

910 

473 

Bushels. 

1,313,807 
299,416 
Tom. 
10, 776 

Pounds. 

3, 767,  .586 

A  cres. 
40, 953 
21,627 

9,632 

661 
4,868 
4,256 

Bushels. 
1,493,101 

Wheat 

282,672 

Hay  (tame  grasses  only) . . 
Tobacco 

Tom. 
7,066 
Pounds. 
620,262 

Oats 

Rye 

Other  minor  crops 

344 

Total  acreage 

79, 673 

85,340 

79, 677 

82,547 

Study  of  the  above  table  shows  that  there  has  been  a  marked 
decrease  in  the  acreage  of  the  cereals,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  and  rye ;  that 
the  acreage  in  ha}^  has  much  more  than  doubled ;  and  that  the  acre- 
age in  tobacco  is  fifteen  times  as  large  as  at  the  beginning  of  the 
period.  The  increased  acreage  in  other  minor  crops  is  due  mainly 
to  their  greater  use  as  forage  crops.  The  acreage  and  yields  of  corn 
have  been  fairly  constant  from  1890  to  1910.  Wheat  reached  its 
greatest  acreage  and  production  in  1900  but  showed  a  marked  de- 
cline in  1909. 

Briefly,  there  has  been  a  strong  tendency  toward  an  increase 
in  the  production  of  hay  and  forage  crops  in  connection  with  the 
growing  live-stock  industry  and  also  the  development  of  the  pro- 
duction of  tobacco  as  the  chief  money  crop.  The  total  acreage  in 
cultivation  to  crops  shows  a  decrease  from  82,347  acres,  or  45  per 
cent  of  the  improved  land,  in  1880,  to  79,410  acres,  or  approximately 
40  per  cent  of  the  improved  land  in  1910.     Hence,  although  there 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF    SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY. 


13 


has  been  an  increa.se  in  the  number  of  farms  and  in  the  percentage  of 
improved  land  per  farm,  there  has  been  a  decrease  in  the  acreage  of 
cultivated  crops.  As  there  is  less  virgin  soil  and  less  waste  and 
vasted  land,  this  decrease,  assuming  that  these  data  are  approxi- 
mately correct,  must  be  accounted  for  by  the  increased  acreage  of 
improved  land  used  for  pasturage. 

The  following  table  gives  the  value  of  all  propert}'  per  farm  and 
the  proportion  of  value  in  land,  buildings,  implements,  and  domestic 
animals : 

Value  of  farm  property. 


All 
property 
perfarni. 

Proportion  in — 

Year. 

Land. 

Buildings. 

Imple- 
ments. 

Domestic 
animals. 

1880                              

Uol'ars. 
6,294 
6,539 
5,479 
8,015 

Per  cent. 

187.2 

'86.4 

65.4 

65.6 

Percent. 

Per  cent. 
2.1 
2.0 
2.4 
2.2 

Per  cent. 
10.7 

1890                                                         

11.6 

1900                                                

20.4 
20.9 

11.8 

1910                                  

11.2 

1  In  the  CensMS  Reports  of  1880  and  1S90  the  value  of  land  and  buildings  Is  included  in  one  Item,  while  in 
the  reports  of  19J0  and  1910  the  values  are  given  separately. 

The  foregoing  table  shows  that  there  has  been  a  markedly  uniform 
percentage  valuation  of  all  classes  of  farm  property.  In  the  decade 
ending  with  1910  the  average  acreage  valuation  of  land  increased 
over  $20  an  acre,  or  more  than  60  per  cent.  As  the  percentage  valu- 
ation remained  practically  constant  within  the  same  period,  there 
must  necessarily  have  been  an  increased  valuation  of  the  other  kinds 

of  farm  property. 

Tenure  of  farms. 


Farms  operated  by- 

Year. 

Owners. 

Tenants. 

Managers. 

1880                                                

Per  cent. 
79.5 
82.02 
70.2 
61.4 

Per  cent. 
20.51 
17.98 
28.9 
37.5 

Per  cent. 
0 

1890                                                     

0 

1900                                            

0.9 

1910                             

1.1 

The  above  table  shows  a  gradual  decrease  since  1890  in  the  number 
of  farms  operated  by  the  owners  and  a  corresponding  increase  in  the 
number  operated  by  tenants  and  managers.  Over  17  per  cent  fewer 
farms  were  operated  by  their  owners  in  1910  than  at  the  beginning  of 
the  period. 


14 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF    THE   BUREAU    OF   SOILS,   1916. 


PRESENT    AGKICULTUEE. 


A  summary  of  the  data  for  1910,  given  in  the  preceding  tables, 
shows  that  79,416  acres,  approximately  40  per  cent  of  the  improved 
land,  or  in  other  words  29.2  per  cent  of  the  total  acreage  of  the 
county,  273,280  acres,  was  in  cultivation  to  annual  farm  crops.  The 
remaining  60  per  cent  of  the  improved  land  in  1910  was  in  wood- 
land, pasture,  orchards,  and  farm  yards  or  in  waste  land.  This  per- 
centage seems  high,  but  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  figures  are 
for  the  whole  county  rather  than  for  the  best  or  the  average  section, 
and  that  there  is  a  considerable  acreage  in  the  eastern  and  southeast- 
ern sections  which,  although  under  fence  and  classed  as  improved 
land,  is  allowed  to  grow  up  to  brush  and  weeds  and  is  put  to  no  use. 
It  also  requires  a  large  acreage  of  pasture  to  maintain  the  large  num- 
ber of  live  stock  now  in  the  county. 

Revenue  from  crop  and  live-stock  sources  in  1909. 


Product. 

Acreage. 

Value. 

Per  cent 
of  total 
value. 

Acres. 

47, 703 

331 

19,868 

772 

'500 

9,709 

Per  cent. 

60.4 

.5 

25.2 

1.0 

.6 

12.3 

Dollars. 
768,378 
15,495 
244,834 
15,124 
13,463 
1,245,811 

Per  cent. 

32.8 

.  7 

10.4 

2.4 

.6 

53.1 

Pur  cent. 
20.0 

other  grains  and  secda      

.4 

Hay  and  forage  crops 

6.4 

Vegetables 

1.4 

Fruits  and  nuts 

.4 

32.4 

Total 

78,983 

2,343,105 

Live  stock  and  products: 

A  nimals  sold  and  sjanghtp.rftd 

1,107,660 

213,559 

155,102 

19, 734 

74.0 

14.3 

10.4 

1.3 

28.9 

Dairy  products,  excluding  home  use  ...           ' 

56.9 

Poultry  and  eggs        

4.0 

Wool - -- 

.5 

Total    

1,496,055 

3,839,160 

j 

1 

1  Estimated. 


The  above  figures  are  from  the  last  census  and  are  the  latest 
available  from  a  reliable  source.  With  a  few  exceptions  they  repre- 
sent fairly  the  present  conditions  and  outline  in  a  general  way  the 
character  of  the  agriculture  in  the  county.  The  cereals  lead  in 
acreage,  followed  in  order  by  hay  and  forage  crops,  the  special  crops 
including  tobacco  and  hemp,  vegetables,  fruits  and  nuts,  and  other 
grains  and  seeds.  On  the  basis  of  value  the  special  crops,  tobacco 
and  hemp,  lead  with  over  53  per  cent,  but  these  crops  are  exceeded 
as  a  source  of  revenue  by  live  stock  and  live-stock  products,  the 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF    SHELBY    COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  15 

value  of  which  amounted  to  two-^ths  of  the  farm  income  from  all 
sources. 

In  general  four  types  of  farming  prevail:  (1)  Live-stock  farming, 
where  farm  operations  mainly  center  on  the  production  of  feed  for 
stock,  with  tobacco  or  hemp  or  both  as  money  crops;  (2)  dairy 
farming,  with  dairy  products  as  the  chief  source  of  income  and 
tobacco  as  a  minor  source;  (3)  general  farming,  with  no  specialized 
industry  or  crop,  with  an  income  derived  from  various  sources  such 
as  dairy  products,  the  sale  of  live  stock,  tobacco,  and  the  excess  of 
other  crops;  and  (4)  general  farming  on  a  small  scale  with  tobacco 
as  the  chief  source  of  income  and  the  sale  of  stock,  poultry,  and  eggs 
as  minor  sources  of  income. 

The  money  crops  in  order  of  acreage  are  corn,  wheat,  tobacco, 
and  hemp.  The  last  three  are  wholly  money  crops;  only  the  excess 
of  corn  above  the  needs  of  the  farm  is  sold.  Tobacco  is  not  only 
the  leading  source  of  income,  but  it  is  a  more  general  source  than 
any  of  the  other  crops.  With  many  it  is  the  only  cash  crop.  In 
addition  its  production  and  marketing  give  employment  to  more 
labor  than  the  other  crops.  Wheat  is  next  in  importance  as  a  cash 
crop.  It  is  grown  on  approximately  75  per  cent  of  the  farms.  The 
income  from  the  sale  of  corn  is  difficult  to  estimate,  and  varies  greatly 
in  different  years.  It  is  the  most  valuable  crop  grown  from  the  stand- 
point of  total  acreage,  acreage  per  farm,  and  the  uses  to  which  the 
crop  is  put.  Hemp,  although  a  minor  crop,  is  an  important  source  of 
income  on  the  farms  where  it  is  grown.  The  net  income  from  this 
crop  is  relatively  large. 

Approximately  60  per  cent  of  the  cultivated  land  in  1909  Avas 
used  for  the  production  of  cereals,  including  40  per  cent  in  corn, 
16.2  per  cent  in  wheat,  2.3  per  cent  in  oats,  1.5  per  cent  in  rye,  and 
a  few  acres  in  barley.  The  cereals  lead  in  acreage  but  rank  second 
in  total  value  of  crops  and  third  in  value  of  all  crop  and  live-stock 
products. 

Corn  leads  the  cereals  both  in  acreage  and  value  of  the  crop  and 
ranks  second  in  value  of  all  crops.  In  1909  it  was  planted  on  31,584 
acres  or  approximately  40  per  cent  of  the  cultivated  area  of  the 
county.  The  production  the  same  year  was  1,133,885  bushels,  or  an 
average  of  about  36  bushels  per  acre.  Com  is  the  most  widely 
grown  crop  in  the  county.  It  is  grown  on  practically  every  farm  in 
fields  ranging  from  a  few  acres  to  50  acres  or  more,  the  former  pre- 
vailing in  the  hilly  section  and  the  latter  over  areas  of  more  favor- 
able topography.    Its  production  is  confined  to  no  one  type  of  soil. 

The  Shelbyville  silt  loam  gives  the  highest  yields,  followed  by  the 
Cincinnati  silt  loam.  Com  is  easily  the  most  important  crop  in  the 
county  from  the  standpoint  of  utility.  It  is  the  chief  grain  feed 
for  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs.    The  stover'  furnishes  a  large  part  of 


16  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE  BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

the  rough  feed  for  farm  stock  during  the  feeding  season.  A  large 
acreage  is  cut  for  silage.  In  addition  it  is  a  source  of  food  for 
family  use.  As  a  rule  the  county  produces  sufficient  corn  for  its  own 
needs.  Some  farmers  have  an  excess  to  sell,  while  others  have  to 
buy  in  order  to  have  sufficient  feed  for  stock.  In  unfavorable  sea- 
sons when  the  yields  are  low,  corn  is  imported;  in  others  when  the 
yields  are  exceptionally  good,  a  portion  of  the  crop  is  exported. 

Shelby  County  ranks  high  in  corn  production  in  the  State.  It  is 
planted  on  a  fairly  uniform  acreage  each  year,  the  largest  plantings 
occurring  in  the  sections  where  the  live-stock  and  dairy  industries 
are  most  highly  developed.  It  is  a  fairly  dependable  crop,  the  yields 
ranging  from  40  to  100  bushels  on  the  Shelbyville  and  Cincinnati 
silt  loams  to  25  to  70  in  the  more  rolling  and  hilly  sections  of  the 
county.  A  considerable  acreage  is  cut  for  ensilage,  and  it  is  said 
that  there  are  more  silos  in  the  county  than  in  any  other  in  the 
State.  The  silos  are  filled  in  the  early  fall,  and  the  silage  is  used  as 
feed  for  dairy  cattle  and  beef  cattle. 

Corn  is  planted  on  sod  land  which  has  been  plowed  the  previous 
fall  or  early  in  the  spring  and  well  prepared.  The  greater  part  of 
the  crop  is  check-rowed,  the  remainder  being  drilled  in,  and  it  is 
given  frequent  and  clean  cultivation  as  long  as  its  size  permits.  Corn 
is  planted  to  a  less  extent  on  land  which  was  in  corn  the  previous 
season. 

Several  varieties  are  grown,  the  most  important  being  Johnson 
County  White,  Johnson  County  Yellow,  Boone  County  White,  and 
Hardin  County  White.  Quite  a  number  of  the  farmers  grow  a  Pro- 
lific variety  for  silage.  The  selection  of  seed  is  a  more  or  less 
common  practice. 

Practically  all  the  corn  is  cut  by  hand,  but  a  comparatively  small 
acreage  is  harvested  by  pulling  the  ears,  and  it  is  either  husked  in  the 
field  or  hauled  to  the  barn  and  husked  later.  The  grain  is  usually 
stored  in  good  cribs,  only  a  few  of  the  old-style  rail  cribs  being  in 
use.  The  stover  is  handled  in  various  ways.  A  large  part  of  it  is 
shredded  and  stored  in  barns,  another  part  is  allowed  to  stand  in  the 
shocks  in  the  field  and  is  hauled  to  the  barns  as  needed,  while  a 
smaller  percentage  is  fed  in  the  fields. 

Wheat  ranks  second  in  acreage  among  the  cereals  and  third  in 
acreage  in  comparison  with  other  annual  farm  crops.  As  a  cash 
crop  it  follows  tobacco.  In  1909,  12,862  acres  produced  95,346 
bushels  of  wheat.  In  1916,  a  poor  wheat  year,  the  estimated  produc- 
tion was  60,000  bushels.  A^Tieat  is  grown  on  about  75  per  cent  of  the 
farms,  the  fields  ranging  from  5  to  100  acres  or  more.  The  greatest 
acreage  is  grown  in  the  central  portion  of  the  county;  in  the  hill  sec- 
tion it  is  a  very  unimportant  crop.  Although  the  acreage  is  de- 
creasing and  the  crop  is  of  relatively  less  importance  than  formerly, 


SOIL   SURVEY   OP   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  17 

it  is  the  medium  through  which  hmd  is  seeded  to  grass  and  as  such  it 
has  an  important  phice  in  the  present  types  of  farming.  The  gen- 
eral opinion  among  the  farmers  seems  to  be  that  wheat  growing  is 
unprofitable. 

The  Shelbyville  silt  loam  leads  all  other  soil  types  both  in  acreage 
and  yield  of  Avheat.  The  Cincinnati  silt  loam  and  the  Eden  silt 
loam  follow.  The  yields  range  from  8  or  10  to  25  or  30  bushels  per 
acre.  Wheat  is  almost  wholly  a  cash  crop.  Only  a  very  small  pro- 
portion is  fed  and  only  when  the  price  is  low.  It  is  sold  to  local 
dealers. 

Wheat  is  sown  in  the  fall  either  on  corn,  tobacco,  or  hemp  land, 
or  on  land  used  the  preceding  year  for  wheat.  Fultz  and  Harvest 
Queen  have  been  the  standard  varieties,  but  declining  yields  are 
causing  the  introduction  of  other  varieties.  Rudy's  Bearded  was 
largely  sown  during  the  past  fall  (1916).  This  variety,  although 
not  as  good  a  milling  wheat,  has  given  higher  yields  in  the  past  two 
or  three  seasons  than  the  older  varieties.  Corn,  tobacco,  and  hemp 
ground  is  prepared  for  wheat  by  disking  the  surface  from  one  to 
three  times.  In  the  case  of  the  corn  and  hemp  land,  the  crop  is  sown 
between  the  shocks,  except  where  the  former  is  cut  for  silage.  In  a 
few  cases  the  seed  is  sown  with  a  narrow  drill  between  the  corn  rows. 
Ground  that  has  lain  fallow  or  has  been  in  wheat  the  previous  season 
is  plowed  and  harrowed  as  in  the  preparation  of  other  crops.  The 
quantity  of  seed  per  acre  ranges  from  1  to  1^  bushels.  The  crop  is 
cut  with  a  binder,  and  it  is  practically  all  thrashed  from  the  shock, 
only  a  small  proportion  being  stacked  and  none  hauled  to  the  barns. 
Some  loss  or  damage  to  the  crop  results  from  unfavorable  weather 
between  the  time  of  cutting  and  thrashing.  A  small  part  of  the 
straw  is  baled  and  sold. 

In  1909  oats  occupied  1,840  acres,  producing  33,337  bushels,  or 
approximately  18.6  bushels  per  acre.  This  crop  is  grown  on  2.3 
per  cent  of  the  farmed  area  and  is  therefore  of  relatively  little  im- 
portance. The  yield  ranges  from  10  to  50  bushels  per  acre.  Com- 
paratively few  farmers  grow  oats,  and  these  only  in  small  fields  on 
practically  all  the  soils  in  the  county.  The  low  yield  is  regarded  as 
being  due  to  unfavorable  climatic  rather  than  to  soil  conditions.  Fre- 
quently the  crop  makes  a  good  growth  and  then  either  lodges  and 
does  not  fill  properly  or  else  is  blasted  by  hot  weather.  Oats  are 
thrashed  in  the  same  manner  as  wheat.  The  grain  for  the  most  part 
is  used  in  feeding  work  stock.  A  small  acreage  is  cut  green  for  hay. 
A  few  farmers  grow  a  mixture  of  oats  and  peas  for  feeding  pur- 
poses. 

Rye  is  another  minor  cereal  crop  with   an   acreage  in  1909  of 
1,404  acres  and  a  yield  of  10,626  bushels.     About  1.5  per  cent  of 
56266°— 19 ^3 


18  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF    THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

the  farmed  area  was  devoted  to  this  crop.  The  acreage  of  rye 
varies  quite  widely  from  year  to  j^ear.  It  is  sown  either  early  or  late 
in  the  fall  and  furnishes  some  pasturage  for  cattle  and  sheep  and  in 
the  spring  is  either  allowed  to  ripen  grain  or  is  plowed  under  and  the 
land  planted  to  other  crops.  Its  value  as  a  cover  crop  is  recognized 
to  a  certain  extent  and  its  use  for  that  purpose  is  increasing.  It  is  a 
valuable  crop  for  the  farmers  of  the  county  on  account  of  the  many 
purposes  for  which  it  may  be  used. 

According  to  the  1910  census  the  production  of  haj'^  was  22,001  tons 
from  19,868  acres,  or  an  average  of  slightly  over  1  ton  per  acre. 
This  grouj)  of  crops  occupies  approximately  25  per  cent  of  the  total 
acreage  in  farm  crops.  Most  of  the  hay  is  clover  and  timothy  mixed 
or  one  or  the  other  of  these  grasses  alone.  Clover  predominates  in 
the  new  seeding  and  timothy  in  the  meadows  which  have  been  in 
grass  for  two  or  more  seasons.  In  general  there  is  more  clover  on 
the  Shelbyville  silt  loam  in  the  central  part  of  the  county  and 
more  timothy  on  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam  in  the  western  part.  Hay  is 
produced  on  all  soil  types  except  the  bottom  land.  In  places  orchard 
grass  is  sown  with  the  other  grasses,  especially  on  the  Cincinnati  silt 
loam. 

Hay  is  an  important  crop  in  the  county.  It  is  almost  entirely  a 
subsistence  crop  and  is  used  for  feeding  work  stock,  beef  cattle,  dairy 
cattle,  and  sheep.  A  few  farmers  buy  and  others  sell  hay,  but  prac- 
tically none  is  exported  to  outside  markets  nor  is  there  any  im- 
ported. Whiteweed  is  abundant  in  the  mowings.  Wild  carrot  is  also 
prevalent  but  does  not  become  conspicuous  until  after  the  first  crop  is 
cut.  A  number  of  other  weeds  are  common  on  much  of  the  hay  land. 
The  clover  usually  grows  tall  and  coarse  and  frequently  lodges. 

In  changing  the  land  to  grass  the  general  practice  is  to  seed  timo- 
thy with  the  wheat  in  the  fall  and  to  sow  the  clover  in  the  spring.  There 
is  seldom  any  trouble  in  getting  a  stand  of  timothy,  but  getting  a 
stand  of  clover  is  more  uncertain.  As  a  rule  there  is  less  difficulty 
in  this  respect  in  fields  on  the  slopes  than  on  the  divides.  A  common 
practice  is  to  cut  hay  from  the  field  for  a  season  or  two,  when  it  is 
either  plowed  for  cultivated  crops  or  is  used  for  pasture.  Land  is 
kept  in  grass  from  2  to  10  years,  but  ordinarily  3  or  4  years. 
On  the  dairy  and  live-stock  farms,  where  large  quantities  of  forage 
crops  are  required,  the  fields  are  left  in  grass  a  shorter  period  than 
in  the  general  farming  section.  The  fields  are  usually  pastured  after 
the  second  growth  has  a  good  start.  Practically  no  attention  is  given 
to  the  care  of  the  grass  land. 

The  hay  is  cut  when  mature,  and  ricked  or  stacked  in  the  fields. 
Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  crop  is  stored  in  barns;  most  of  it  is 
h.-mled  to  the  barns  as  needed  during  the  feeding  season.  There  seems 
to  be  a  tendency  to  let  the  grass  become  too  ripe  before  cutting,  as 


SOIL  SURVEY  OF  SHELBY  COUNTY,  KENTUCKY.        19 

the  clover  lodges  and  often  smothers  out  the  roots,  allowing  other 
less  valuable  grasses  and  weeds  to  grow.  Frequently  the  weeds 
ripen  their  seed  before  the  hay  is  cut. 

The  latest  census  report  gives  741  acres  of  grains  cut  green  and 
549  acres  of  coarse  forage.  During  the  present  season  the  cutting 
of  grains  for  hay  was  by  no  means  common.  The  coarse  forage 
refers  mainly  to  cowpeas  cut  for  hay.  In  addition  321  acres  of  the 
same  crop  gave  a  yield  of  2,454  bushels  of  peas.  At  present  there 
is  a  larger  acreage  planted  and  a  much  greater  proportion  of  the 
crop  is  cut  for  hay.  Wheat  in  many  cases  follows  cowpeas.  In  a 
few  cases  the  crop  is  allowed  to  remain  on  the  land  or  it  may  be 
plowed  under  as  a  green-manure  crop.  Good  yields  of  either  hay  or 
seed  are  obtained.  The  value  of  this  crop  for  its  soil-improving 
qualities  is  widely  recognized.  Soy  beans  are  planted  on  only  a 
few  acres. 

Although  no  acreage  of  alfalfa  was  reported  for  1909  and  the 
present  acreage  is  very  small,  the  impoi-tance  and  possibilities  of 
this  crop  are  sufficiently  great  to  justify  its  discussion.  At  present 
it  is  confined  to  a  few  small  fields  on  the  Shelbyville  and  Cincinnati 
silt  loams.  A  few  farmers  are  attempting  its  production  on  a  larger 
scale.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  grow  this  crop  with  in- 
different success.  Failures  have  resulted  from  one  cause  or  another, 
so  that  the  opinion  among  the  farmers  is  that  the  soils  are  not 
adapted  to  it  and  that,  as  so  much  preparation  is  required  to  grow 
the  crop  successfully,  better  returns  are  obtained  from  clover,  which 
also  fits  better  into  the  rotation.  Liming  and  inoculating  the  land 
for  alfalfa  generally  have  not  been  done,  although  their  need  is 
recognized.  One  of  the  difficulties  in  growing  this  crop  is  the 
reappearance  of  bluegrass  in  the  fields.  When  a  good  stand  is  ob- 
tained, two  or  three  cuttings  of  about  1  ton  each  are  obtained  each 
season. 

Besides  the  value  of  grass  in  hay  production,  its  value  in  pastures, 
especially  in  the  live-stock  country,  is  large.  As  less  than  50  per 
cent  of  the  improved  land  is  in  farm  crops,  it  is  evident  that  a  con- 
siderable acreage  is  used  for  other  purposes.  The  cattle,  horses, 
sheep,  and  hogs  graze  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  on  either 
permanent  pastures,  consisting  of  bluegrass  fields  used  wholly  for 
that  purpose  for  a  term  of  years,  or  temporary  pastures,  a  step  in 
the  rotation  between  hay  land  and  cultivated  crops.  Other  pasture 
lands  are  fields  which  are  turned  out  without  seeding  to  grass,  and 
hilly  areas  not  used  for  cultivated  crops.  In  the  hill  section  these 
usually  consist  of  steep  slopes  formerly  farmed,  but  now  so  washed 
and  gullied  that  cultivation  is  impossible.  The  latter  produce  com- 
paratively little  pasturage.  Little  attention  is  given  to  the  care  of 
pasture  lands  and  they  are  frequently  overgrazed. 


20  FIELD   OPERATIONS  OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

Th:-  special  crops  of  the  county  are  tobacco,  hemp,  and  sorghum. 
In  1909  these  were  grown  on  a  combined  acreage  of  9,T09  acres,  12.3 
per  cent  of  the  area  in  annual  farm  crops.  In  acreage  they  thus 
rank  third  but  in  value  they  stand  first.  Tobacco  was  produced  on 
9,035  acres,  hemp  on  471,  and  sorghum  on  203.  The  former,  then,  is 
an  important  crop  and  the  others  minor  ones.  It  was  grown  on  11.3 
per  cent  of  the  farmed  area  with  a  production  of  9,314,692  pounds 
and  an  average  yield  of  1,030  pounds  per  acre.  Shelby  County  in 
that  year  ranked  third  in  the  State  in  the  production  of  Burley  to- 
bacco, being  exceeded  only  by  Lewis  and  Owen  Counties.  It  pro- 
duced about  4  per  cent  of  the  total  Kentucky  crop. 

The  yield  of  tobacco  ordinarily  ranges  from  700  to  1,000  pounds 
on  the  soils  of  the  Eden  series  in  the  hilly  section  of  the  eastern  part 
of  the  county  and  from  1,000  to  1,800  pounds  or  more  or.  the  soils  of 
the  Shelbyville  series.  Very  little  tobacco  is  grown  on  the  Cincin- 
nati silt  loam,  except  in  areas  adjacent  to  soils  of  the  two  series  first 
mentioned.  In  the  hilly  section,  where  the  farms  are  fairly  small 
and  w^here  the  crop  is  grown  by  the  owner  with  some  hired  help,  the 
fields  contain  from  1  to  10  acres  with  an  average  of  about  4  acres.  In 
sections  of  more  favorable  topography  and  soil,  where  the  farms  are 
larger  and  the  crop  is  grown  largely  by  tenants,  the  fields  range  from 
5  to  50  acres  or  more,  with  an  average  of  10  or  12  acres.  The  general 
opinion  is  that  the  acreage  in  tobacco  has  not  materially  increased 
since  1909,  and  that,  though  varying  somewhat  from  year  to  year, 
it  is  close  to  10,000  acres.  Tobacco  is  usually  grown  by  tenants  on 
shares.     On  many  farms  it  is  the  chief  source  of  income. 

Well-drained  land,  which  warms  up  early  in  the  spring,  seems  to 
be  best  suited  to  the  production  of  tobacco.  The  crop  is  planted 
much  more  frequently  on  the  slopes  than  on  the  tops  of  the  broad 
undulating  divides.  During  the  early  stages  of  the  commercial  pro- 
duction of  this  crop  virgin  land  Avas  considered  necessary,  and  many 
acres  of  woodland  bluegrass  pasture  were  broken  for  this  purpose. 
Even  now  it  is  planted  on  the  new  land  where  available.  There  is, 
however,  little  left  in  any  section  of  the  county  and  clover  sod  forms 
the  greater  part  of  the  land  put  in  this  crop.  The  cropping  of  steep 
hillside  fields  to  tobacco  without  attention  to  seeding  to  grass  has  re- 
sulted in  their  erosion  to  such  an  extent  that  large  areas  are  at  pres- 
ent unfit  for  cultivation.  A  higher  organic-matter  content  appears 
both  to  increase  the  yield  and  to  improve  the  quality  of  the  leaf. 

It  is  a  Avell-recognized  fact  that  a  better  quality  of  tobacco  is  groAvn 
in  the  hill  country  of  the  eastern  part  than  in  other  parts  of  the 
county.  The  factors  causing  this  difference  have  not  been  deter- 
mined. The  soils  of  the  hill  section,  although  having  a  heavier  and 
less  permeable  subsoil  because  of  their  sloping  -surfaces,  have  a  more 
perfect  run-off  and  so  are  well  drained.    They  therefore  warm  up 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  21 

early  in  the  spring.  Their  lime  and  potassium  contents,  as  indicated 
by  chemical  analysis,  are  also  higher  and  their  organic  matter  content 
is  lower  than  in  case  of  the  soils  of  the  Shelbyville  series.  In  gen- 
eral the  grade  of  tobacco  varies  within  the  same  field  and  in  adj<nn- 
ing  fields,  and  it  also  varies  on  the  same  land  in  successive  seasons 
when  given  the  same  treatment. 

The  tobacco  grades  are  based  upon  the  color  and  texture  of  the 
leaf.  The  lighter  colored  soils  of  the  hill  section  are  said  to  produce 
a  leaf  of  light  weight  and  fine  texture,  while  the  darker  colored  soils 
of  the  Shelbyville  series  grow  a  heavier  and  a  darker  colored  leaf. 
The  product  of  the  former  commands  the  higher  price,  but  this  is 
offset  by  the  heavier  yields  obtained  from  the  latter  soils.  All  the 
tobacco  produced  in  Shelby  County  is  Burley  and  is  used  mainly 
for  the  manufacture  of  cigarette  and  chewing  tobaccos. 

Tobacco  land  is  plowed  in  the  spring  and  harrowed  until  in  a  fine, 
friable  condition.  Transplanting,  which  in  most  cases  is  done  by 
hand,  is  begun  as  early  as  the  weather  permits.  The  plants  are  set 
at  intervals  of  18  inches  in  rows  from  3^  to  4  feet  apart.  The  crop 
is  given  cultivation  with  one  or  two  horse  implements,  but  a  large 
amount  of  hand  work  is  necessary  to  keep  the  fields  in  proper  condi- 
tion. As  soon  as  the  blossoms  appear  the  plants  are  topped.  Sprouts 
are  removed  from  time  to  time  in  order  that  the  strength  of  the 
plant  may  go  to  the  main  stem  leaves  which  make  the  best  grade  of 
tobacco.  A  sufficient  number  of  vigorous  plants  are  allowed  to 
ripen  seed  for  the  next  year's  planting.  As  soon  as  possible  after 
the  plants  begin  to  turn  yellow  they  are  cut  close  to  the  ground, 
strung  on  sticks,  and  hauled  to  the  barns,  where  the  sticks  are  sus- 
pended in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  free  circulation  of  air.  The  to- 
bacco barns  are  usually  placed  apart  from  other  buildings  and  in 
such  a  position  that  there  is  nothing  to  interfere  with  the  movement 
of  air.  The  sides  and  ends  of  the  barns  have  long  hinged  doors  which 
may  be  opened  at  will  to  regidate  the  circulation  of  air.  In  some 
cases  the  plants  are  allowed  to  wilt  in  the  fields  before  being  placed 
in  the  barns.  The  tobacco  cures  without  further  attention ;  fires  are 
not  used.  When  thoroughly  cured  and  in  condition  to  handle  with- 
out breaking,  the  leaves  are  stripped  from  the  stalk,  graded,  and 
made  into  hands,  ready  for  the  market.  The  greater  part  of  the 
crop  is  sold  by  auction  on  the  loose-leaf  market  in  Shelbyville. 

The  production  of  tobacco,  although  not  favorably  regarded  by 
some  farmers,  is  often  necessary  on  leased  farms,  for  the  reason  that 
most  of  the  tenants  are  primarily  tobacco  farmers.  Some  of  the 
owners  have  viewed  with  concern  the  destruction  of  the  woodland 
bluegrass  pastures,  and  there  are  evidences  of  a  tendency  to  return 
the  land  to  bluegrass,  reducing  the  acreage  in  tobacco  for  this  pur- 
pose.    The  crop  is  commonly  regarded  as  hard  on  the  soil  on  account 


22  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OP    THE   BUREAU   OP    SOILS,   1916. 

of  the  small  percentage  of  the  crop  that  is  returned  and  because 
tobacco  farming  reduces  the  number  of  live  stock  that  may  be  kept. 
The  profits  from  the  crop  have  been  fairly  large  for  the  last  few 
years,  but  labor  is  scarce  and  a  large  amount  of  labor  is  required  to 
produce  the  crop.     The  acreage  has  remained  fairly  constant. 

During  the  present  season  hemp  was  grown  on  about  a  dozen  farms, 
in  fields  ranging  from  25  to  75  acres  and  upward.  This  must  be 
classed  as  a  minor  cash  crop.  The  census  of  1910  gives  a  total  acre- 
age of  471  with  a  production  of  419,485  pounds  of  fiber.  On  account 
of  its  importance  on  the  farms  where  it  is  being  grown  and  also  on 
account  of  the  acreage  suited  to  its  production,  the  crop  warrants 
special  mention.  It  is  grown  within  a  radius  of  a  few  miles  of  Shel- 
byville  on  undulating  areas  of  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam,  which 
appears  to  be  well  suited  to  its  production. 

Hemp  requires  a  warm,  well-drained,  fertile  soil.  It  takes  the 
place  of  tobacco  or  corn  in  the  rotation  and  is  grown  on  sod  land, 
plowed  in  the  fall  or  early  spring.  The  land  is  prepared  in  much 
the  same  way  as  for  corn  and  the  seed  is  sown  broadcast  or  in  drills 
as  early  as  the  season  permits.  The  crop  requires  little  attention 
from  sowing  to  cutting  time.  It  is  cut  as  close  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground  as  possible  either  by  hand  or  with  machinery.  It  is  then 
shocked  and  allowed  to  stand  until  late  fall  when  it  is  spread  thinly 
and  left  to  rot,  or  ret.  Later  it  is  again  shocked  and  still  later 
broken  in  the  fields  in  late  winter  or  early  spring.  The  fiber  is  made 
into  bales  of  about  100  pounds  each  and  is  sold  or  stored  as  the 
market  warrants.  The  yields  average  around  1,200  pounds  per  acre. 
The  hemp  hurds  are  usually  burned. 

Hemp  fits  well  into  the  rotation  of  crops  and  into  the  system  of 
farming  on  the  larger  farms.  It  makes  a  rank  growth  and  serves 
to  keep  down  the  weeds.  The  farmers  regard  the  crop  a  profitable 
one  and  would  plant  it  more  extensively  if  it  were  not  for  scarcity 
of  labor.  The  availability  of  town  labor  is  one  of  the  factors  which 
determines  the  location  of  the  acreage  used  for  the  crop.  Only  a 
small  percentage  of  the  hemp  seed  is  home  grown.  At  its  present 
price  the  production  of  seed  for  sale  Avould  be  profitable. 

Of  the  minor  crops  sorghum  occupied  203  acres,  giving  a  produc- 
tion of  883  tons  in  1909.  This  crop  is  grown  in  small  patches  by 
many  farmers,  especially  in  the  hill  section  of  the  county.  It  is 
used  for  forage  or  for  the  manufacture  of  sirup.  The  latter  is 
mainly  for  home  use,  although  a  small  amount  is  sold  locally.  The 
value  of  sorghum  as  a  forage  crop  is  widely  recognized.  Another 
minor  crop  of  some  importance  is  potatoes,  of  which  280  acres,  yield- 
ing 31,282  bushels,  is  reported  in  1909.  Practically  all  the  potatoes 
are  grown  in  small  patches  for  home  use.  In  favorable  seasons  the 
yield  is  good  and  the  quality  fair. 


SOIL  "SURVEY   OF    SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  23 

An  acreage  of  480  was  reported  for  vegetables.  These  are  grown 
for  home  use,  except  for  a  few  acres  in  the  vicinity  of  Shelbyville, 
used  to  produce  a  supply  for  the  local  market.  Good  results  are 
obtained  from  the  small  market  gardens. 

The  census  of  1910  reports  16,500  apple  trees  and  7,742  peach  trees. 
These  are  mainly  in  small  orchards  to  produce  fruit  for  home  use 
and  are  confined  to  no  particular  section  of  the  county  or  type  of 
soil.  The  few  orchards  of  commercial  size  are  given  ver}'  little  care 
or  attention.  Grapes  are  grown  for  home  use  only.  The  production 
of  small  fruits,  such  as  strawberries,  raspberries,  and  blackberries,  is 
not  practiced  on  a  commercial  scale. 

Live-stock  farming. — In  Shelby  county  live-stock  farming  consists 
in  the  raising  of  pure-bred  dairy  and  beef  cattle  for  sale  locally  or 
to  breeders  in  this  or  other  States  and  in  the  feeding  of  mules  and 
beef  cattle  for  outside  markets.  The  county  is  widely  known  as  a 
breeding  center  for  beef  and  dairy  cattle.  The  auction  sales  are 
attended  by  breeders  and  dairymen  from  many  States  and  herds 
are  well  and  favorably  known  at  fairs  and  stock  shows  throughout 
the  country.  The  farms  engaged  in  breeding  cattle  lie  almost  wholly 
in  the  central  part  of  the  county.  The  farms  are  comparatively 
large  and  practically  all  the  forage  needed  to  feed  the  stock  is  grown 
on  the  farm,  mixed  and  concentrated  feeds  only  being  imported. 

The  1910  census  reports  5,773  cattle  and  1,742  calves  as  sold  or 
slaughtered,  and  the  number  of  all  cattle  other  than  milch  cows  as 
9,812.  While  the  raising  of  cattle  for  beef  is  not  a  specialized  in- 
dustry with  many  farmers,  yet  their  production  for  this  purpose 
has  assumed  considerable  importance  in  the  county  as  a  whole.  In 
many  cases  the  calves  are  fed  and  sold  by  the  farmers  who  raised 
thenv  In  other  cases  they  are  purchased  as  yearlings.  The  cattle 
of  beef  breeds  are  pastured  during  the  grazing  season  and  fed  mainly 
roughage  during  the  remainder  of  the  year.  When  from  three  to 
four  years  old  they  are  fattened  and  sold  in  July  or  August  usually 
to  dealers  who  resell  in  the  large  cattle  markets.  The  beef  cattle 
are  mostly  Herefords  and  Shorthorns.  The  feeders  imported  are 
obtained  as  near  home  as  possible,  usually  from  this  and  surrounding 
counties.  This  system  of  farming  provides  a  market  for  the  bulky 
farm  crops  at  home  and  returns  considerable  fertility  to  the  soil. 
It  has  proved  profitable  in  the  last  few  years. 

The  raising  of  mules  for  the  market  is  another  important  branch 
of  the  live-stock  industry.  It  is  engaged  in  on  a  large  scale  by  only 
a  comparatively  few  farmers,  but  mules  to  supply  the  local  work 
stock  are  raised  in  small  numbers  throughout  the  county.  Their 
sale  is  a  minor  source  of  income  to  many  farmers  who  practice  gen- 
eral farming.     The  farmers  who  feed  mules  for  the  outside  markets 


24  FIELD   OPEEATIOlSrS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

usually  buy  locally  in  this  and  surrounding  counties  during  the  late 
summer  months.  The  mules  are  allowed  to  graze  until  the  middle 
of  September  or  in  some  cases  as  late  as  the  middle  of  October,  when 
they  are  housed  and  fed  liberal  quantities  of  hay  and  corn.  They 
are  generally  sold  between  the  middle  of  November  and  the  first  of 
the  year  to  buyers,  who  ship  in  carload  lots  to  the  southern  markets. 
The  last  census  reports  2,522  horses  and  mules  sold. 

The  sale  of  horses  is  not  an  important  source  of  income  to  the 
farmers  of  the  county,  although  more  are  produced  than  needed  to 
supply  the  local  demand,  a  few  saddle  and  driving  horses  being 
exported.     The  Census  of  1910  reported  6,823  horses  ^  in  the  county. 

The  importance  of  sheep  raising  is  shown  by  the  1910  census  re- 
turns, which  give  34,078  sheep  on  the  farms,  16,282  sheep  sold  or 
slaughtered,  and  $19,734  as  the  value  of  the  wool  crop.  These  figures 
represent  closely  the  present  status  of  the  industry.  Sheep  raising 
is  not  specialized,  but  flocks  of  25  to  100  head  or  more  are  found  on 
many  farms.  While  less  attention  has  been  given  to  the  production 
of  pure-bred  sheep  than  in  the  case  of  other  farm  animals  there  are 
many  good  sheep  in  the  county.  Several  different  breeds  are  repre- 
sented among  which  are  the  Shropshire,  Dorset,  Hampshire,  and 
Southdown.  The  sheep  graze  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year, 
and  on  some  farms  little  or  no  shelter  is  provided.  On  others  they 
have  access  to  barns  during  the  most  severe  weather  and  are  fed 
inside  for  short  periods.  Winter  pasture  is  afforded  by  rye,  wheat, 
and  bluegrass.  Sheep  raising  as  practiced  in  this  county  is  a  profit- 
able side  line  in  general  farming.  Pasture  and  water  are  abundant 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  the  sheep  require  very  little 
attention  on  the  part  of  the  owner. 

Hog  raising  is  an  extensive  industry  in  Shelby  County. ,  The 
census  of  1910  reported  24,835  hogs  on  farms  and  31,356  as  sold  or 
slaughtered.  There  probably  has  been  little  change  in  the  status  of 
the  industry  since  1910.  The  census  figures  shoAv  an  average  of  20 
hogs  per  farm,  but  on  many  100  hogs  or  more  are  fattened  each  year. 
These  are  marketed  at  any  time  from  spring  to  late  fall.  Hogs  are 
allowed  to  graze  and  are  fed  liberally  on  corn  during  the  fattening 
period. 

The  present  status  of  the  dairy  industry  is  not  fully  shown  by  the 
reports  of  the  1910  census,  which  returned  6,689  milch  cows  on  farms, 
with  products,  excluding  home  use,  valued  at  $213,559.  This  is  5.6 
per  cent  of  the  total  value  of  all  crops  and  live-stock  products.  The 
value  of  dairy  products  nearly  tripled  in  the  decade  ending  1909, 
and  has  also  increased  rapidly  since  that  year.  It  is  now  regarded 
as  one  of  the  leading  industries,  being  the  chief  source  of  income  on 
many  farms  and  an  accessory  source  on  many  more.     Dairy  farming 

»  Probably  Includes  mulea. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  25 

is  more  highly  developed  in  the  central  and  west  central  portions  of 
the  county,  tributary  to  the  Louisville  &  Nashville,  and  to  the  South- 
ern, and  the  interurban  electric  railroads.  Large  quantities  of  milk 
and  cream  are  shipped  daily  to  Louisville.  Other  dairy  sections  of 
smaller  extent  lie  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  county,  near  a  number  of 
towns.  In  the  south-central  part  a  good  dairy  section  is  developing 
along  the  Bloomfield  Branch  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad. 
There  is  a  small  creamery  in  Shelbyville,  the  only  one  in  the  county. 
Small  amounts  of  butter  are  made  on  farms  in  sections  distant  from 
the  railroads. 

Some  of  the  dairies  are  maintained  for  milk  or  cream  production 
alone,  while  others  keeping  high-grade  stock  depend  for  a  part  of 
their  income  on  the  sale  of  cows  and  young  animals.  Ninety  per 
cent  of  the  dairy  herds  consist  of  pure-bred  Jerseys  and  grade  Jersey 
animals.  The  county  ranks  high  in  the  quality  of  its  dairy  cattle. 
The  dairy  farms  are  provided  with  modern  conveniences,  silos,  etc. 

Good  transportation  facilities,  adequate  near-by  markets,  a  suffi- 
cient water  supply,  and  soils  and  climate  adapted  to  the  production 
of  pasture  and  forage  crops  have  combined  to  foster  the  development 
of  this  industry.  Its  further  extension  is  assured.  Bluegrass  and 
other  grasses  furnish  pasturage  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year, 
so  that  the  feeding  season  is  comparatively  short.  An  abundance  of 
corn  or  other  forage  crops  for  silage  or  fodder  can  be  grown.  The 
county  can  produce  practically  everything  necessary  in  the  way  of 
feed. 

In  1909  the  value  of  poultry  and  eggs  sold  was  $155,102,  or  4  per 
cent  of  the  total  value  of  all  farm  products.  The  raising  of  poultry- 
is  not  a  specialized  industry.  Poultry  provides  food  for  family  use 
and  a  small  income  from  the  sale  of  the  excess  products. 

The  census  of  1910  gives  the  percentage  valuation  of  all  farm 
property  as  follows:  Land,  65.6  per  cent;  buildings,  20.9  per  cent; 
implements  and  machinery,  2.2  per  cent;  and  domestic  animals,  11.2 
per  cent.  These  figures  represent  fairly  the  present  relative  valua- 
tion of  the  farm  equipment,  which  ranges  from  poor  to  very  good 
in  various  sections  of  the  county.  Outside  of  the  hill  section,  and 
especially  in  the  central  part  of  the  county,  there  are  many  large 
houses,  surrounded  by  spacious  bluegrass  lawns  and  yards  in  which 
many  of  the  original  oak,  maple,  and  other  trees  still  remain.  On 
these  farms  the  barns,  though  fairly  good,  are  not  in  proportion  to 
the  houses.  The  tobacco  barn  is  frequently  the  largest  and  best  barn 
on  the  farm.  Silos  are  numerous.  The  tenant  houses  are  of  fairly 
good  grade. 

In  the  hilly  sections  small  to  medium-sized  frame  houses  are  the 
rule.    The  tobacco  barns  are  fairly  good.     Other  farm  buildings  are 
usually  small  and  often  in  a  poor  state  of  repair. 
56266°— 19 4 


26  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 

Except  in  the  steepest  parts  of  the  hilly  sections,  practically  ,all 
the  land  is  adapted  to  the  use  of  modern  labor-saving  farm  ma- 
chinery. Cultivators,  drills,  and  binders  are  in  common  use.  Trac- 
tors have  been  tried  for  plowing,  but  only  one  was  observed  in  use 
for  that  purpose  during  the  season  of  the  survey.  There  is  a  consid- 
erable area  which  seems  to  be  adapted  to  their  use  for  certain  opera- 
tions. Tractors  and  other  gasoline  engines  are  extensively  used  for 
other  poAver  purposes  about  the  farm  buildings. 

A  good  grade  of  work  stock  is  maintained  throughout  the  county. 
On  some  farms  mules,  on  others  horses,  and  on  others  both  are  used 
for  motive  power.  The  grade  of  saddle  and  driving  horses  is  very 
good.  Many  automobiles  are  owned  by  the  farmers,  and  their  value 
as  a  part  of  the  farm  equipment  is  generally  recognized. 

Water  for  farm  use  is  secured  in  several  ways.  The  underljnng 
rock  formation,  as  a  rule,  furnishes  only  moderate  amounts  of  hard 
water  for  wells  and  springs.  The  greater  part  of  the  well  water  is 
obtained  from  moderately  shallow  dug  wells,  as  drilled  wells  seem 
to  yield  comparatively  little  water.  As  practically  all  the  well  water 
is  hard,  cistern  water  is  used  in  the  farmhouses  on  many  farms. 
Springs  occur  occasionally  in  some  sections,  but  furnish  compara- 
tively little  water  for  domestic  use.  With  proper  precautions  to  col- 
lect only  pure  water,  cisterns  are  a  very  satisfactory  source  of  water 
for  home  use.  Artificial  reservoirs  or  ponds  are  extensively  used  as 
a  source  of  water  for  stock.  In  some  sections  an  abundant  water 
supply  for  cattle  is  furnished  by  the  creeks. 

The  character  of  the  agriculture  as  developed  at  present  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  county  has  been  influenced  greatly  by  topo- 
graphic and  soil  conditions.  The  topography  has  affected  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  farming  more  than  it  has  the  kind  of  crops 
grown.  It  has  been  one  of  the  chief  factors  in  determining  the  large 
size  of  the  farms  and  the  big  scale  of  the  farming  operations  in  the 
central  part  of  the  county.  At  the  same  time  it  has  largely  deter- 
mined the  necessity  of  small  farms  and  a  diversified  farming  system 
in  the  more  hilly  section.  It  has  also  been  a  factor  in  the  location  of 
the  dairy  industry,  although  transportation  has  been  a  much  more 
important  factor.  Considering  topography  as  determining  the  ade- 
quate character  of  the  surface  drainage,  it  has  been  the  deciding 
factor  in  the  kinds  of  crops  and  the  character  of  the  agriculture. 
The  luxuriant  growth  of  bluegrass  in  parts  of  the  county  early  fur- 
nished abundant  pasturage  and  thus  became  an  important  factor  in 
the  development  of  the  live-stock  industry,  indirectly  influencing  the 
increased  production  of  forage  crops.  The  matter  of  soil  determines 
largely  the  tobacco  and  nontobacco  producing  sections  of  the  county. 

The  rather  uniform  soil  conditions  and  the  little  attention  to 
special  crops  render  the  matter  of  adaptation  a  more  simple  problem 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  27 

than  in  counties  where  a  greater  variety  of  soils  is  found.  Corn, 
wheat,  tobacco,  etc.,  are  grown  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  on  all  the 
soils.  There  is,  however,  a  general  recognition  of  the  adaptation  of 
the  soil  to  ditferent  crops.  That  recognition  is  more  common  than 
the  distribution  of  the  crops  seems  to  indicate.  It  is  universally 
recognized  that  tobacco  requires  a  warm,  well-drained  soil,  and  that 
the  heaviest  yields  are  secured  on  well-drained  slopes  of  the  Shelby- 
ville  silt  loam,  and  that  lighter  yields  of  better  quality  are  obtained 
on  the  steep  slopes  of  the  Eden  clay  of  the  hilly  sections.  Virgin 
soil  is  the  first  choice  for  this  crop,  followed  by  bluegrass  sod  and 
then  by  clover  sod.  It  is  also  recognized  that  the  Shelbyville  silt 
loam  is  the  best  clover  soil  and  that  timothy  and  orchard  grass  do 
better  on  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam.  On  typical  areas  of  the  latter  soil 
tobacco  is  seldom  grown.  It  is  said  to  produce  only  medium  yields 
of  average  quality  in  favorable  seasons.  The  Shelbyville  silt  loam  is 
recognized  as  the  best  soil  for  hemp  in  the  county.  A  few  farmers 
are  recognizing  the  value  of  grass  in  preventing  the  erosion  of  steep 
slopes  in  the  hill  section. 

The  general  character  of  the  farming  with  a  tendency  toward 
specialization  in  the  dairy  and  live-stock  industries  has  not  resulted 
in  a  fixed  rotation  of  crops,  although  a  general  plan  is  quite  con- 
sistently followed.  Sod  land  is  broken  for  the  cultivated  crops — 
corn  and  tobacco — ^followed  by  wheat  and  seeding  to  grass,  which 
is  cut  for  hay  or  used  for  pasturage  for  two  years  or  more.  Varia- 
tions from  the  above  are  common  and  consist  mainly  in  planting  the 
field  to  corn  for  a  second  season  or  leaving  the  land  in  grass  for  a 
longer  period;  also  in  following  corn  hj  cowpeas,  and  in  turn  by 
wheat.  Oats  usually  follow  corn  and  are  followed  by  Avheat  or  grass. 
Sod  land  is  used  for  hemp  which  is  usually  folloAved  by  wheat. 

The  expenditure  for  fertilizers  according  to  the  1910  census  was 
$10,296,  or  an  average  of  $38  on  the  farms  reporting,  283,  or  12.3 
per  cent  of  the  total  number.  This  is  a  decrease  of  $5,224  over  that 
reported  in  1900.  Fertilizers  are  used  in  small  quantities  by  a  few 
farmers  for  tobacco,  grain,  and  corn,  the  character  and  amount  de- 
pending upon  the  location  of  the  farm.  In  general  in  the  western 
part  of  the  county  bone  meal  and  acid  phosphate  are  more  frequently 
used.  In  certain  other  sections  high-grade  complete  mixtures  are 
used.  The  use  of  ground  limestone  is  increasing.  In  some  cases  the 
rock  is  quarried  and  crushed  on  the  farm,  in  others  it  is  shipped  from 
outside  points.    Rock  .phosphate  is  used  by  a  few  farmers. 

The  expenditure  for  labor,  according  to  the  1910  census,  was 
$297,309,  or  an  average  of  $250  per  farm,  1,190  farms,  or  51.7  per 
cent  of  the  total  number,  reporting.  The  laborers  are  both  native- 
born  white  and  colored.     They  are  fairly  efficient,  but  the  supply  is 


28  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE  BUREAU   OP   SOILS,   1916. 

inadequate  to  handle  the  farm  work  at  all  seasons,  as  the  demand  is 
not  steady,  the  greatest  coming  during  the  planting  and  harvesting 
periods.  Obtaining  labor  when  needed  is  one  of  the  most  important, 
-as  well  as  the  most  difficult,  problems  of  the  farmers  of  the  county. 
The  uneven  demand  and  the  proximity  to  Louisville  and  other  cities 
where  a  higher  wage  is  paid  and  where  the  demand  is  steady,  renders 
the  supply  of  farm  labor  inadequate.  There  is  a  tendency  also  for 
the  colored  population  to  move  to  the  towns,  where  they  are  available 
for  day  labor,  only  on  farms  lying  within  a  convenient  distance.  The 
scarcity  of  labor  is  influencing  the  character  of  the  farming  in  the 
county.  Wages  by  the  month  range  from  $20  to  $35  with  board. 
Day  labor  costs  from  $1.50  to  $2.50.  The  highest  wages  are  paid 
during  haying  and  harvesting  and  during  the  tobacco  cutting  season. 
Laborers  paid  by  the  piece  receive  15  cents  per  shock  for  cutting 
corn,  15  cents  per  shock  for  husking  corn,  and  $1.25  per  hundred  for 
breaking  hemp. 

The  census  of  1910  shows  that  there  are  2,301  farms  in  the  county, 
comprising  87.4  per  cent  of  its  area;  also  that  the  average  size  of 
the  farms  is  103.8  acres,  90.7  per  cent  of  which,  or  9-1.1  acres,  is  im- 
proved land.  In  other  words,  79.2  per  cent  of  the  total  area  of  the 
county  is  improved  land.  The  average  size  appears  to  be  too  low, 
but  doubtless  results  from  the  census  classification  of  each  tenancy 
as  a  farm.  Similar  statistics  for  the  whole  State  show  that  86.3  per 
cent  of  it  is  in  farms  and  that  there  is  55.8  per  cent  of  improved 
land  in  the  farms.  Over  an  extensive  area  in  the  central  part  of 
the  county  the  farms  range  in  size  from  50  to  1,000  acres  or  more, 
with  a  general  average  of  between  200  and  300  acres,  which  exceeds 
that  for  the  county.  The  individual  holdings,  although  in  one  large 
tract,  are  usually  subdivided  into  two  or  more  farms.  In  the  hill 
section  and  also  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  the  county  the  farms 
are  small  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  central  part  and  doubtless 
the  average  size  is  less  than  that  for  the  whole  county. 

In  1910  61.4  per  cent  of  the  farms  were  operated  by  the  owners, 
37.5  by  tenants,  and  1.2  by  managers.  The  percentage  operated  by 
tenants  is  unusually  high. 

Land  is  rented  largely  on  a  share  basis  under  several  slightly  dif- 
ferent systems.  The  most  common  form  of  lease  is  that  in  which  the 
landlord  furnishes  house,  land,  pasture  for  stock,  and  barns,  and  the 
tenant  the  work  stock  and  labor,  with  an  equal  division  of  the  crops. 
In  case  no  pasture  is  furnished  the  landlord  provides  the  stock.  In 
some  cases  the  landowner  selects  the  crops,  directs  their  cultivation, 
and  attends  to  their  marketing.  There  are  many  farms  leased  as  a 
whole,  but  it  is  also  a  common  practice  to  lease  only  a  small  part  of  a 
farm  to  be  used  mainly  for  tobacco.  Cash  rent  is  uncommon  and 
langes  from  $3  to  $10  an  acre. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  29 

According  to  the  1910  census  the  average  value  of  land  in  the 
count}''  was  $50.65  an  acre.  At  the  present  time  the  average  is  doubt- 
less somewhat  higher.  The  sale  value  varies  widely  with  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil,  topography,  location,  and  improvements.  In  the 
central  part  of  the  county  within  a  radius  of  several  miles  of  Shelby- 
ville  good  farms  sell  readily  for  $100  to  $140  an  acre.  At  a  greater 
distance  similar  or  only  slightly,  less  desirable  farms  sell  for  $75  to 
$100  an  acre.  In  the  hill  section  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county 
the  values  range  from  $20  to  $60  an  acre,  and  in  the  western  part 
from  $50  to  $100  an  acre. 

SOILS. 

Shelby  County  is  underlain  by  nearly  horizontal  beds  of  lime- 
stones, shaly  limestones,  and  calcareous  shales.^  Taken  as  a  whole, 
the  rocks  are  calcareous  and  argillaceous,  and  from  these  the  soils 
have  been  developed  through  the  processes  of  weathering.  The  di- 
vergence of  these  beds  from  the  horizontal  position  takes  the  form 
of  a  slight  westward  dip,  so  that,  since  the  upland  surface  is  in  a 
broad  way  a  plain,  the  oldest  beds  are  exposed  in  the  eastern  and 
the  youngest  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The  lowest  beds  of 
those  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  contain  a  high  proportion  of 
shale.  The  limestone  beds  interstratified  with  them  are  thin.  The 
shales  are  calcareous,  but  their  disintegration  leaves  a  thicker  layer 
of  material  for  a  given  thickness  of  rock  and  a  soil  higher  in  its 
percentage  of  clay  than  is  the  case  with  the  beds  with  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  limestone.  The  latter  are  more  abundant  throughout  the 
central  part  of  the  county,  though  the  difference  consists  mainly  in 
the  occurrence  of  some  massive  limestone  beds  rather  than  in  the 
absence  of  shale.  The  latter  still  makes  up  a  considerable  proportion 
of  the  rocks.  The  western  part  of  the  county,  except  a  small  area 
in  the  extreme  northwest  where  the  proportion  of  massive  limestone 
is  high,  is  underlain  by  highly  argillaceous  limestones  and  calcareous 
shales.  A  striking  characteristic  of  the  rocks  of  the  county  as  a  whole, 
therefore,  is  a  rather  high  percentage  of  argillaceous  material  with  a 
maximum  of  this  material  in  the  eastern  part  and  a  minimum 
throughout  the  central  and  in  the  extreme  northwestern  parts.  This 
has  caused  the  development  of  a  considerable  area  of  heavy  soil  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  county  and  silt  loams  elsewhere.  The  freshly  disin- 
tegrated but  still  imperfectly  oxidized  product  of  all  these  rocks 
throughout  the  area  is  a  sticky  plastic  clay  and  the  soils  of  the  county, 
so  far  as  soil  type,  based  on  physical  characteristics,  is  concerned, 

1  In  the  preparation  of  this  chapter  the  following  literature  has  been  consulted  :  Geology 
and  Mineral  Resources  of  Jefferson  County,  Kentucliy.  Charles  Butts.  Geology  of 
Franklin  County,  Kentucky.  A.  M.  Miller.  Water  Resources  of  the  Blue  Grass  Region, 
Kentucky.  Water-Supply  Paper  No.  233.  Geology  of  Henry,  Shelby,  and  Oldham  Coun- 
ties,  Kentucky.      W.   M.    Linney. 


30  FIELD    OPEliATlONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 

differ  mainly  in  the  thickness  of  the  thoroughly  weathered  and  uni- 
formly oxidized  horizon  overlying  the  imperfectly  oxidized,  freshly 
disintegrated  material.  Other  variations  in  color,  structure,  texture, 
and  content  of  organic  matter  are  of  less  importance. 

The  normal  soil  profile  of  the  maturely  developed  soil  of  the  region 
consists  of  a  6-inch  horizon  of  light-brown  material,  having  a  decided 
yellowish  shade.  This  is  underlain  by  a  yellowish-brown,  friable, 
somewhat  more  compact  and  slightly  heavier  horizon  extending  to  a 
depth  of  about  20  inches.  This  in  turn  is  underlain  by  a  heavier, 
somewhat  plastic  yellowish-brown  horizon,  in  which  the  texture  be- 
comes somewhat  heavier  downward.  The  latter  horizon  is  the  lowest 
one  in  the  true  soil  profile  and  changes  gradually  downward  to  the 
unoxidized  or  partially  oxidized  freshly  disintegrated  clay  from  the 
underlying  shale  or  limestone  or  into  the  rock  itself. 

The  profile  of  the  most  maturely  developed  soil  in  this  area  varies 
slightly  from  the  normal,  as  just  described,  in  the  presence  at  the 
base  of  the  soil  profile,  and  lying  between  the  latter  and  the  disin- 
tegrated parent  rock  of  a  horizon  of  iron  concretions  and  incipient 
concretions  in  the  form  of  black  or  dark-brown  spots.  This  horizon 
is  more  friable  than  the  one  immediately  above  it  or  that  immediately 
below  it,  and  now  lies  at  about  30  inches  beneath  the  surface  and  is 
uniformly  characteristic  of  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam.  It  is  the  base 
of  the  soil  horizon  and  marks  the  surface  of  the  rather  heavy  and 
somewhat  impervious  clay,  on  which  subsoil  water  is  checked  in  its 
doAvnward  percolation.  The  presence  of  well-formed  iron  concre- 
tions above  this  horizon  seems  to  indicate  that  it  was  first  formed 
higher  up  and  has  moved  downward  with  the  gradual  increase  in  the 
thickness  of  the  zone  of  complete  oxidation. 

The  more  advanced  stage  in  soil  development  reached  by  the  Shel- 
byville silt  loam  than  has  been  reached  by  the  other  soils  of  the 
county  seems  to  be  due  more  to  the  relatively  smooth  topography 
under  which  it  has  been  developed  than  to  the  character  of  the  rock 
that  has  supplied  the  material.  The  smoothness  of  the  topography 
has  prevented  excessive  erosion  and  has  alloAved  the  soil  material  to  lie 
in  position  long  enough  to  become  weathered  to  a  greater  depth  than 
in  any  of  the  other  soils.  Some  of  the  soil,  possibly  a  considerable 
part  of  it,  has  doubtless  existed  as  such  throughout  the  period  of  the 
existing  topographic  cycle  and  may  have  existed  during  a  previous 
one.  However  that  may  be,  its  subsoil  is  better  oxidized  and  better 
aerated  than  that  of  any  other  soil  in  the  county.  Analyses  so  far 
made,  however,  do  not  indicate  any  more  thorough  leaching  of  this 
soil  than  of  the  other  types. 

The  Cincinnati  silt  loam  stands  next  to  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam 
in  its  stage  of  development  as  a  soil.    The  depth  of  the  thoroughly 


SOIL  SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  31 

oxidized  and  aerated  horizon  is  less  than  in  the  case  of  the  latter 
soil  and  the  layer  of  iron-oxide  concretions  and  spots  is  not  so  gener- 
ally present  or  so  well  developed.  The  subsoil  is  more  plastic  and 
stick}^  and  the  mottled  blue  and  yellow  partially  weathered  parent 
rock  material  is  usually  found  at  shallower  depths  than  in  the  Shel- 
byville.  A  somewhat  larger  proportion  of  shale  in  the  parent  rock 
as  well  as  a  topography  somewhat  rougher  than  that  of  the  Shelby- 
ville  silt  loam  area  both  act  toward  the  retardation  of  the  oxidation 
of  this  soil,  the  former  by  making  the  deepening  of  the  zone  of  oxi- 
dation difficult  and  slower,  and  the  latter  by  causing  a  thinning  of 
the  weathered  zone  from  above  by  erosion.  The  latter  process  tends 
to  decrease  the  amount  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil  at  any  given  time 
by  keeping  the  humus  layer  thin.  The  chemical  composition  of  the 
parent  rock  seems  to  have  had  some  influence  on  the  chemical  com- 
position of  the  soil,  though  it  is  very  slight,  and  the  data  at  hand 
seems  hardly  sufficient  to  draw  definite  conclusions. 

The  Eden  clay,  the  other  important  upland  soil  in  the  county, 
is  the  youngest  soil  in  the  county,  exception  being  made  of  the 
recent  alluvial  soils.  Its  stage  of  development  is  the  least  advanced 
of  all  of  them,  its  subsoil  being  in  many  cases  little  else  but  the  dis- 
integrated and  partially  weathered  parent  calcareous  shale  and  thin 
bedded  limestone. 

The  thoroughly  oxidized  and  aerated  zone  in  the  clay  type 
is  rarely  more  than  12  inches  thick,  and  often  thinner.  The 
layer  of  iron-oxide  concretions  is  absent,  the  steep  slopes  on  which  the 
soil  occurs  preventing  any  stagnation,  on  the  surface  of  the  unweath- 
ered  zone,  of  the  subsoil  water. 

On  account  of  the  severe  erosion  to  which  the  types  of  the  Eden 
series  are  subjected  the  surface  soils  have  a  lower  content  of  organic 
matter  as  a  whole  than  either  of  the  other  two  principal  upland  soils. 
They  are  lighter  in  color,  therefore,  than  any  of  the. other  types. 

The  Hagerstown  silt  loam,  the  remaining  upland  type,  is  more  com- 
pletely oxidized  than  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam,  but  its  area  is  so  small 
that  it  does  not  need  discussion  here. 

The  county  lies  within  the  Limestone  Valley  and  Uplands  Soil 
Province  as  defined  b}^  the  Bureau  of  Soils  in  Bulletin  96.  Two 
groups  of  soils  are  represented,  (1)  residual  upland  soils  and  (2) 
river  flood  plain  soils,  comprising  both  present  alluvial  and  ter- 
race soils.  The  former  covers  the  main  part  of  the  county,  the  latter 
being  comparatively  inextensive  and  of  minor  importance. 

The  above  broad  divisions  are  further  subdivided  into  soil  series 
or  groups  and  the  series  into  soil  types.  The  latter  is  the  unit  of  clas- 
sification and  is  determined  by  the  texture,  or  the  relative  proportion 
of  the  different-sized  particles  of  mineral  matter  which  make  up  the 
soil  mass.     The  series  classification  is  based  upon  origin,  structure, 


32  FIELt)   OPERATIONS    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF    SOILS,   1916. 

color,  topography,  and  agricultural  value.  Types  of  different  tex- 
tures but  similar  in  the  above  characteristics  comprise  a  soil  series. 

Six  such  series  embracing  eight  types  and  three  phases  have  been 
recognized  in  the  survey  of  Shelby  County.  The  series  distinction  is 
usually  clearly  defined,  but  in  places  one  series  may  grade  into 
another  so  gradually  that  the  separations  can  not  everywhere  be  made 
along  very  sharp  lines.  The  type  distinctions  in  regard  to  texture 
are  as  a  rule  fairly  well  defined,  but  here  also  graduations  occur  which 
make  it  difficult  to  draw  everywhere  sharp  boundaries.  Gradations 
and  other  minor  differences  where  not  of  sufficient  extent  and  agricul- 
tural importance  to  warrant  the  establishing  of  a  distinct  type  are 
mapped  as  phases.  The  extent  and  distribution  of  the  soil  types  and 
phases  are  shown  on  the  accompanying  soil  map. 

The  residual  soils  belong  in  the  Shelbyville,  Cincinnati,  Eden,  and 
Hagerstown  series. 

The  Shelbyville  series  includes  types  which  have  a  brown  surface 
soil,  yellowish-brown  upper  subsoil,  and  a  yellowish-browm  to  yellow 
low^er  subsoil  usually  with  moderate  to  high  content  of  rusty-brown 
and  black  concretions  and  concretionary  material.  Faint  grayish 
mottlings  are  frequently  present  in  the  lower  subsoil.  Both  soil  and 
upper  subsoil  have  a  fairly  compact  though  friable  structure  while 
the  lower  subsoil  though  rather  heavy  is  brittle  or  crumbly.  In  places 
the  substratum  consists  of  heavy  stiff  clay,  like  the  subsoil  of  the 
typical  Cincinnati.  Bedrock  is  usually  encountered  at  depths  rang- 
ing from  4  to  10  feet.  Rock  fragments  are  uncommon  on  the  surface 
or  within  the  3-foot  section.  The  surface  features  range  from  undu- 
lating to  broadly  rolling  (PI.  I,  fig.  1)  with  a  few  moderately  steep 
slopes  toward  the  larger  streams.  The  drainage  is  adequate.  The 
soil  types  of  this  series  are  residual  from  limestone,  shaly  lime- 
stone, and  calcareous  shales.  They  have  a  fairly  high  organic-matter 
content.  The  Shelbyville  silt  loam  and  two  phases  represent  the 
series  in  this  county. 

The  types  in  the  Cincinnati  series  have  a  light-brown  soil,  yellow 
upper  subsoil,  and  yellow  plastic  clay  lower  subsoil,  often  mottled 
with  gray  or  pale  yellow,  and  in  places  containing  brown  and  black 
concretions  and  concretionary  material.  The  structure  of  the  soil  is 
friable  while  that  of  the  subsoil  is  sticky  and  plastic  when  wet  and 
tough  when  dry.  Bedrock  is  encountered  at  5  to  10  feet  below  the 
surface.  The  surface  is  gently  rolling  to  rolling.  The  drainage 
though  usually  adequate  is  slightly  retarded  by  the  heavy  texture 
and  close  structure  of  the  subsoil  and  substratum.  The  material  is 
residual  from  limestone  and  shaly  limestone.  The  soil  contains  a 
moderate  amount  of  organic  matter,  and  tends  to  erode  on  slopes. 
The  series  is  represented  by  two  types  and  one  phase  in  this  county. 


Report  of  Bureau  of  Soils,   U.  S.   Dept.  of  Agriculture,   1916. 


Plate  I. 


Fig.  I. —Characteristic  Undulating  Surface  of  the  Shelbyville  Silt 

Loam. 

The  crop  in  shock  is  hemp.  This  soil  is  one  of  the  better  types  in  the  county  and  is  larsely  used  for 
the  production  of  corn,  with  a  considerable  area  devoted  to  hay  (timothy  and  clover),  wheat,  and 
tobacco.    The  raising  of  cattle  and  dairying  are  important  industries. 


Fig.  2.— Patchy  Cultivation  of  some  of  the  More  Badly  Eroded  Land  in 
THE  Eastern  Part  of  the  County. 

Cedar  reproduction  is  taking  place  on  the  severely  eroded  slope  in  the  middle  ground.    Such  slopes 
probably  can  best  be  used  as  grass  and  pasture  land. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  33 

The  Eden  series  consists  of  soil  types  which  have  gray  to  yelloAv 
soils,  yellow  upper  subsoils,  and  mottled  yellow  and  gray  lower  sub- 
soils. The  soils  are  comparativelj'  shallow  and  have  a  moderately 
friable  structure.  The  subsoils  have  a  smooth,  greasy  feel,  are  slightly 
plastic  when  wet,  and  are  relatively  impervious  to  water  and  air. 
The  series  occupies  rolling  to  hilly  areas  whose  drainage  ranges  from 
adequate  to  excessive.  It  is  derived  through  the  processes  of  weather- 
ing from  shale  interbedded  with  thin  strata  of  limestone.  The  rapid 
removal  of  material  and  colluvial  accumulation  have  modified  to  some 
extent  certain  of  the  types.  As  a  whole  they  are  characterized  by  a 
low  organic-matter  content  and  tendency  to  erode.  (PL  I,  fig.  2.) 
Material  of  this  character  is  classified  in  two  types,  the  silt  loam  and 
the  clay. 

The  Hagerstown  soils  have  a  brown  to  slightly  reddish-brown  sur- 
face soil  and  a  reddish-brown  subsoil.  The  soil  is  fairly  deep  and 
friable.  The  subsoil  is  moderately  friable  to  brittle.  These  soils 
occupy  flat  or  undulating  ridge  tops  and  benchlike  positions  whose 
surface  features  have  been  determined  largely  by  the  character  of  the 
underlying  rocks.  The  drainage  is  well  established.  The  soil  ma- 
terial is  derived  from  fairly  massive  strata  of  magnesian  limestone. 
The  soils  are  productive,  easily  tilled,  and  adapted  to  a  variety  of 
crops.    Only  one  type,  the  silt  loam,  is  mapped. 

The  soils  of  the  river  flood  plain  group  fall  into  two  classes,  (1) 
terrace  soils  and  (2)  first-bottom  soils.  They  are  inextensive  in  Shelby 
County  and  occur  only  along  certain  of  the  larger  streams,  as  isolated 
areas  instead  of  the  usual  long  narrow  strips.  Frequently  it  is  difficult 
to  draw  the  line  between  first  bottom  and  terrace.  The  distinction 
often  rests  upon  whether  the  tract  in  question  is  subject  to  overflow. 
The  soils  of  this  group  are  composed  of  sediments  derived  from  the 
uplands  of  the  basin  of  the  stream  along  which  they  occur  and  de- 
posited in  quiet  water  during  overflow.  The  terrace  areas  were  de- 
posited before  the  streams  had  cut  to  their  present  levels.  The  Hunt- 
ington series  occupies  first  bottoms  and  the  Elk  series  the  terraces. 

The  soil  types  of  the  Huntington  series  are  characterized  by  brown 
friable  soils  and  lighter  brown  subsoils  of  heavier  texture.  The  sur- 
face is  level  and  the  drainage  is  good,  except  during  infrequent  short 
periods  of  overflow.  The  material  is  composed  of  sediments  washed 
from  the  uplands  of  the  basin  of  the  stream  along  which  it  occurs  and 
consists  of  reworked  portions  of  the  soils  of  the  Shelbyville  and  Cin- 
cinnati series.  The  types  have  a  moderate  content  of  organic  matter. 
The  silt  loam  is  mapped. 

The  Elk  series  includes  the  soil  types  which  have  light-brown  soils 

and  yellowish-brown  subsoils.    The  types  occupy  flat  or  nearly  flat 

second  bottoms  standing  above  normal  overflow.     The  drainage  is 

good.    The  poorly  drained  areas  represent  inclusions  of  other  soils, 

56266°— 19 5 


34 


FIELD   OPERATIONS    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 


and  should  not  be  included  in  the  series  described.  The  material  con- 
sists of  alluvial  sediments  washed  down  from  residual  upland  lime- 
stone soils  and  deposited  at  a  time  when  the  present  streams  were 
flowing  at  higher  levels.  The  soils  are  adapted  to  a  wide  range  of 
crops. 

The  following  table  gives  the  names  and  the  actual  and  relative 
extent  of  the  soil  types  and  phases  mapped  in  Shelby  County : 

Ai'eas  of  different  soils. 


Soil. 

Acres. 

Per  cent. 

Soil. 

Acres. 

Per  cent. 

Shelby  vllle  silt  loam 

73,600 
19,328 
17,920 
54,080 
11,520 
43,200 
11,008 

I         45.4 

1         26.8 

17.7 
4.5 

Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam 

Huntington  silt  loam 

7,744 
3,968 
1,280 

3  2 

Rolling  phase 

1  6 

Shallow  phase 

Hagerstown  silt  loam  .. 

5 

Cincinnati  silt  loam 

Elli  silt  loam 

S32 

3 

Total 

244,480 

SHELBYVILLE  SILT  LOAM. 


The  surface  soil  of  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam  is  a  light-brown, 
friable  silt  loam  about  6  or  8  inches  deep.  The  subsoil  consists  of  a 
light-brown  silt  loam  which  passes  at  10  to  14  inches  into  light-brown 
or  yellowish-brown,  brittle  silty  clay  loam,  this  in  turn  passing  at  16 
to  20  inches  into  light  yellowish  brown,  moderately  friable  to  slightly 
stiif  silty  clay  to  clay.  This  usually  contains  rusty-brown  and  black 
concretions  and  concretionary  material,  in  moderate  to  abundant 
quantity.  Below  a  depth  of  about  30  inches  pale-yellow  and  gray 
mottlings  are  common.  In  a  few  places  the  upper  subsoil  shows  a 
reddish  cast,  but  the  yellowish  clay  is  reached  beneath  this,  within 
the  3-foot  section.  The  substratum  is  similar  to  the  lower  subsoil. 
The  change  from  upper  to  lower  subsoil  is  in  many  places  abrupt. 
The  latter  becomes  heavier  and  more  plastic  and  sticky  with  depth 
and  more  mottled  as  bedrock  is  approached.  The  depth  of  the  soil 
mantle  ranges  from  4  to  10  feet,  with  an  average  of  about  5^  feet. 
Typically  the  3-foot  section  is  free  from  rock  fragments. 

Some  small  patches  of  the  Hagerstown  and  Cincinnati  silt  loams 
are  included  with  this  type  as  mapped. 

The  greatest  variation  in  this  tjq^e  is  in  the  depth  to  the  lower, 
heavy  subsoil.  This  appears  to  depend  largely  on  the  topography 
and  the  depth  to  bedrock.  Here  and  there,  in  small  areas  on  stream 
slopes,  the  deep,  heavy  subsoil  is  comparatively  near  the  surface,  and 
the  soil  is  lighter  brown  and  slightly  heavier  than  is  typical.  Where 
these  areas  are  of  sufficient  extent  they  are  separated  as  a  shallow 
phase.     As  a  rule  the  depth  decreases  inversely  with  the  degree  of 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF    SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  35 

slope,  and  with  this  decrease  tliere  is  a  tendency  toAvard  a  slightly 
yellowish-brown  color.  In  general  the  more  rolling  the  surface  and 
the  shallower  the  soil  blanket  over  bedrock,  the  less  the  depth  of  the 
surface  layer  of  silt  loam.  There  is  increased  mottling  and  an  abun- 
dance of  concretions  and  concretionary  material  where  the  drainage 
is  slightly  retarded  by  topography  or  by  an  especially  heavy  sub- 
stratum. 

Over  extensive  areas  of  gently  undulating  land  the  type  has  a 
uniform  brown  color  and  silt  loam  texture,  with  little  range  in  depth 
to  the  heavy  lower  subsoil.  Here  practically  the  only  variation  is 
the  appearance  of  faint  mottlings  in  the  extreme  lower  subsoil  in 
small,  very  gently  undulating  to  almost  flat  areas  on  broad  divides 
or  near  the  heads  of  small  streams.  In  these  places  there  is  usually 
a  greater  number  of  small  concretions. 

The  boundary  lines  drawn  between  this  type  and  the  Cincinnati 
silt  loam  are  only  approximate,  as  these  types,  being  derived  from 
successive  formations,  merge  into  each  other  ver}^  gradually  and  in 
most  places  with  no  change  in  topography.  In  addition,  the  material 
from  the  upper  formation  thins  out  gradually,  and  prolonged  erosion 
has  removed  a  greater  or  less  proportion  of  it  in  places. 

The  Shelbyville  silt  loam  and  its  phases  occupy  a  large  continuous 
area  in  the  eastern  half  of  the  county,  mainly  within  the  drainage 
basins  of  Clear  and  Guists  Creeks. 

The  surface  is  that  of  a  broadly  undulating  plain.  The  divides 
are  for  the  most  part  broad  and  gently  undulating  and  the  slopes 
long  and  gentle.  The  streams  flow  in  shallow,  though  wide,  valleys 
which  gradually  become  deeper  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
where  the  surface  in  places  is  rolling,  with  here  and  there  a  con- 
spicuously steep  slope.  The  topography  is  more  rolling  than  typi- 
cal along  BuUskin  Creek. 

There  are  few  large  streams  throughout  tliis  soil,  but  tributaries 
are  sufficiently  widespread  to  give  good  surface  drainage,  and  the 
underdrainage  appears  to  be  fairly  good.  In  a  few  places  at  the 
heads  of  small  branches  or  on  almost  flat  divides  the  drainage  is 
somewhat  retarded  during  periods  of  heavy  rainfall.  There  are 
very  feAv- springs  of  any  considerable  size. 

Some  small  patches  of  the  original  timber  remain  in  places.  The 
growth  includes  beech,  sugar  maple,  oak,  poplar,  and  ash. 

The  Shelbyville  silt  loam  is  the  most  important  soil  in  the  county. 
It  is  very  extensive,  and  is  universally  considered  the  most  produc- 
tive type.  It  is  known  to  be  well  adapted  to  all  the  common  crops. 
It  includes  most  of  the  best  farms.  All  of  the  type  is  easily  acces- 
sible, and  much  of  it  is  within  a  few  miles  of  Shelbyville.  Practi- 
cally all  the  type  is  in  cultivation.    The  soil  is  quite  well  supplied 


36  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 

with  organic  matter  and  is  easily  tilled,  and  its  structure  permits  of 
good  aeration  as  well  as  the  retention  of  moisture. 

Hay  and  pasture  grasses  occupy  the  largest  acreage,  followed  by 
corn,  wheat,  and  tobacco.  Clover  makes  up  a  large  part  of  the  hay 
crop.  The  land  used  for  pasture  consists  of  permanent  bluegrass 
sod  and  of  fields  which  have  been  used  for  hay  crops  a  season  or  two. 
Corn  is  the  most  important  subsistence  crop,  and  tobacco  the  lead- 
ing money  crop.  This  is  the  chief  tobacco-growing  soil  of  the 
county.  Wheat  is  also  a  money  crop.  In  certain  seasons  some  com 
and  hay  are  sold.  The  minor  crpps  are  hemp,  cowpeas,  rye,  oats, 
vegetables,  and  fruit.  Hemp  is  grown  as  a  source  of  income,  while 
the  others  are  of  relatively  little  commercial  importance.  Alfalfa, 
although  of  minor  importance  at  present,  is  a  very  valuable  crop 
under  the  prevailing  type  of  agriculture.  On  many  farms  gen- 
eral, farming  is  carried  on,  with  tobacco  as  the  main  money  crop, 
but  it  is  on  this  type  that  the  greatest  development  of  the  various 
branches  of  the  live-stock  industry  has  taken  place,  including  dairy- 
ing, the  raising  and  feeding  of  beef  cattle,  the  finishing  of  mules, 
the  raising  of  pure-bred  stock  for  sale  and  show  purposes,  and  the 
raising  of  hogs  and  sheep.  Many  farmers  make  a  specialty  of  one 
or  more  of  these  branches.  On  all  such  farms  efforts  are  made  to 
grow  all  the  necessary  forage  and  feed,  but  in  some  seasons  it  is  nec- 
essary to  purchase  additional  feed.  Concentrated  feeds  are  often 
purchased. 

The  ordinary  range  in  the  yield  of  crops  is  as  follows :  Hay  from 
1  to  2  tons  per  acre;  corn,  from  40  to  80  bushels;  wheat,  from  10  to 
30  bushels;  tobacco,  from  1,000  to  1,800  pounds;  and  oats,  from 
30  to  40  bushels.  The  yields  are  seldom  reduced  seriously  by  an 
excess  of  rainfall,  but  are  lowered  in  some  years  by  drought. 

Farms  on  this  type  are  larger  than  the  average  for  the  county,  and 
operations  are  conducted  on  a  fairly  large  scale,  a  considerable 
acreage  being  handled  by  tenants.  Tobacco  is  the  chief  crop  pro- 
duced by  tenants. 

This  is  the  most  efficiently  farmed  type  in  the  county.  The  grade 
of  work  stock  is  good,  and  there  is  an  adequate  supply  of  up-to-date 
farm  machinery.  Crops  are  generally  rotated.  The  most  common 
rotation  consists  of  plowing  sod  land  for  corn  or  tobacco,  which  is 
followed  by  wheat  and  this  by  grass.  Tobacco  is  seldom  if  ever 
grown  two  years  in  succession,  but  a  few  farmers  plant  corn  the 
second  year  on  the  same  land.  The  rotation  is  varied  by  the  intro- 
duction of  other  crops,  such  as  cowpoas  or  hemp.  The  former  usually 
follows  corn  and  is,  in  turn,  followed  by  wheat.  All  cultivated  crops 
are  given  frequent  clean  cultivation.  In  the  fall  the  land  is  gen- 
erally disked  and  wheat  sown,  but  this  practice  seems  to  be  gradually 
going  out  of  use.    For  hemp,  which  is  grown  only  on  this  type,  a 


SOIL    SURVEY    OF    SHELBY    COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  37 

Avell-drained,  productive  field  is  selected.  Land  is  left  in  sod  for 
two  to  four  years.  It  may  be  used  for  pasturage  during  part  of  this 
period.  The  first  year  after  seeding  the  hay  crop  is  mainly  clover. 
This  seems  to  give  way  to  timothy,  so  that  succeeding  crops  are  mixed. 
Fall  plowing  is  quite  a  general  practice.  The  land  is  plowed  to  a 
depth  of  6  to  8  inches,  and  the  seed  bed  is  usually  well  prepared. 
Rye  is  sometimes  sown  in  the  fall  for  turning  under  in  the  spring. 
Cowpeas  are  usually  cut  for  hay.  Infrequently  they  are  turned 
under  for  green  manure. 

Commercial  fertilizers  are  seldom  used  on  this  type.  A  few 
farmers  use  small  quantities  to  aid  in  giving  crops  a  good  start  or  to 
insure  a  better  stand  of  clover.  Very  little  of  the  type  is  regarded 
as  "  run  down,"  although  it  has  been  farmed  for  many  years  and 
yields  of  some  crops  are  lower  than  formerly.  By  feeding  the 
greater  part  of  the  crops  at  home,  much  plant  food  is  returned  to  the 
soil  in  the  form  of  manure.  Leguminous  crops  are  grown  for  soil 
improvement  and  the  growing  of  clover  has  aided  in  maintaining  the 
productiveness.    Ground  limestone  is  used  by  a  few  farmers. 

Farms  on  this  type  command  the  highest  sale  value  in  the  county. 
There  is  a  range  in  price  from  $75  to  $150  an  acre,  depending  upon 
the  location  and  the  state  of  cultivation.  The  exchange  of  farms 
seems  to  be  quite  active. 

The  adaptation  of  this  soil  to  pasturage,  hay,  and  forage  crops, 
and  its  good  location  with  respect  to  markets  and  transportation 
facilities  have  favored  the  development  of  the  live-stock  industry. 
The  extension  of  live-stock  farming  would  apparently  be  profitable, 
especially  in  view  of  the  high  prices  for  beef  and  pork  and  for  mules. 
Feeding  of  green  crops  during  the  summer  months  would  decrease 
the  necessary  acreage  in  pasture  and  make  more  land  available  for 
cultivation.  It  would  seem  that  the  high  feeding  value  and  good 
yields  of  alfalfa  would  justify  greater  efforts  to  grow  this  crop. 
Much  of  the  type  can  be  adapted  to  it  by  liming  and  inoculation. 
Liming  would  also  increase  the  chances  of  obtaining  a  good  stand 
of  clover. 

Shelhyville  silt  loam^  rolling  phase. — The  rolling  phase  of  the 
Shelbyville  silt  loam  consists  of  6  to  10  inches  of  brown,  mellow  silt 
loam  which  grades  into  a  brown  to  yellowish-brown,  brittle,  heavy 
silty  clay  loam,  and  this  in  turn  at  about  24  inches  into  a  brownish- 
yellow  to  yellowish,  somewhat  plastic,  heavy  silty  clay,  faintly  mot- 
tled with  rusty  brown  and  gray.  The  lower  subsoil  has  numerous 
small  dark  spots  or  iron  stains  and  small  rounded  concretions.  Bed- 
rock lies  4  to  6  feet  below  the  surface,  and  the  soil  is  practically  free 
from  rock  fragments. 

This  phase  closely  resembles  the  typical  Shelbyville  silt  loam  in 
many  respects,  including  the  brown  surface  soil  and  broadly  undu- 


38  FIELD   OPERATIONS    OF   THE   BUREAU    OF    SOILS,   1916. 

lating  topography.  The  lower  subsoil  of  the  type  is  practically 
identical  with  the  upper  subsoil  of  this  phase,  except  that  the  latter 
tends  toward  yellow,  while  the  former  is  usually  brown.  The  deep 
substratum  of  the  type  is  similar  to  the  lower  subsoil  of  the  phase 
except  for  the  yellowish  color  of  the  latter.  The  phase  differs  from 
the  Cincinnati  silt  loam  in  having  a  darker  brown  surface  soil  and  a 
less  pronounced  yellow  upper  subsoil  and  in  the  absence  of  the  dis- 
tinctly mottled  lower  subsoil.  It  differs  from  the  shallow  phase  in 
topography,  depth  of  surface  soil,  and  in  color  of,  and  depth  to  the 
lower  subsoil.  In  depth  of  material  it  is  intermediate  between  the 
main  type  and  its  shallow  phase. 

The  rolling  phase  as  mapped  includes  areas  which  are  practically 
identical  with  the  main  type.  Its  variations  consist  mainly  in  the 
depth  of  the  silt  loam  mantle  and  the  color  of  the  lower  subsoil. 
Some  unimportant  areas  of  this  phase  are  encountered  in  places  in 
the  main  type  where  their  separation  is  not  warranted. 

The  rolling  phase  covers  the  tops  of  ridges  within  the  hilly  section 
of  the  county  and  in  the  less  hilly  section  where  the  associated  types 
belong  to  the  Eden  series.  It  is  confined  to  a  belt  along  the  eastern 
side  and  to  the  southeastern  quarter  of  the  county.  Its  surface  is 
gently  undulating  to  broadly  rolling,  flanked  by  steep  slopes  occu- 
pied by  the  Eden  soils  or  by  the  shallow  phase  of  the  Shelbyville 
silt  loam.    The  drainage  is  adequate,  and  in  some  places  excessive. 

This  phase  covers  a  fairly  extensive  area,  nearly  all  of  which  is 
farmed.  Each  main  ridge  is  traversed  by  a  public  road,  along 
which  there  are  numerous  farm  houses.  It  is  the  best,  as  well  as  the 
most  important,  soil  in  the  sections  where  it  is  encountered.  The  soil 
has  a  fairly  high  content  of  organic  matter,  and  is  productive  and 
easily  tilled.    It  is  a  desirable  type  for  general  farm  and  special  crops. 

General  farming,  with  tobacco  as  the  chief  money  crop,  predom- 
inates. The  farms  are  of  medium  size  and  situated  in  part  on  other 
soils.  The  adjoining  soils  in  many  cases  are  used  for  tobacco  and 
pasture,  while  this  phase  is  used  for  grass,  corn,  and  wheat.  Some 
dairying  and  live-stock  raising  are  carried  on.  The  income  is  from 
a  mixed  source.  In  general  the  farming  methods  are  not  as  good 
as  on  the  typical  soil,  and  the  phase  has  not  been  maintained  in  as 
high  a  state  of  productiveness.  On  the  average  the  yields  range 
slightly  lower. 

Land  of  this  phase  sells  for  $50  to  $75  an  acre.  Part  of  it  lies  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  railroads. 

A  general  need  of  this  soil  is  the  keeping  of  more  stock,  in  order 
to  have  a  home  market  for  the  bulky  crops  and  to  return  more  plant 
food  to  the  soil  in  the  form  of  manure.  Leguminous  crops  should  be 
grown  more  extensively.  The  growing  of  winter  cover  crops  would 
be  beneficial  in  protecting  the  surface  from  erosion  and  leaching. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF    SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  39 

Shelbyville  silt  loam^  shalloio  phase. — The  shallow  phase  of  the 
Shelbyville  silt  loam  consists  of  5  or  6  inches  of  brown  silt  loam  iin- 
derlam  by  a  brittle,  yellowish-brown  or  light-brown  silty  clay  loam 
which  grades  at  about  15  inches  into  a  plastic,  heavy  silty  clay  or 
clay  of  a  yellowish-brown  color,  mottled  with  pale  yellow,  gray,  and 
rustv  brown.  The  latter  material  continues  to  the  bedrock,  which 
usually  ranges  in  depth  from  2  to  4  feet  below  the  surface.  Iron 
stains  and  small  concretions  or  accretions  are  fairly  common  in  the 
lower  subsoil.  Numerous  small  areas  occur,  especially  on  slopes, 
where  the  surface  soil  has  been  removed  and  the  heav}^  subsoil  ex- 
posed. Here  fragments  of  limestone  are  fairly  common  and  lime- 
stone outcrops  occur  in  places.  Occasionally  the  gullies  extend  to 
the  be(?rock.  As  mapped  the  phase  includes  patches  of  Shelbyville 
silty  clay  loam  or  clay  too  small  and  irregular  to  map.  These  occur 
mainly  adjacent  to  streams  where  the  slope  is  rather  abrupt. 

This  phase  differs  from  the  typical  Shelbyville  silt  loam  in  the 
occurrence  of  the  heavy,  plastic  clay  substratum  within  the  3-foot 
section.  The  more  rolling  topography  has  not  permitted  the  accu- 
mulation of  a  silt  loam  mantle  as  deep  as  over  the  less  rolling  areas 
of  the  type,  hence  the  lower  subsoil  of  the  tjq^e  forms  the  upper 
subsoil  of  the  phase.  The  surface  soil  is  also  lighter  in  color  and 
the  lower  subsoil  is  more  typically  mottled. 

The  shallow  phase  occurs  chiefly  on  sloping  or  steeply  sloping  areas 
along  or  near  streams,  and  occupies  an  intermediate  position  between 
the  typical  Shelbyville  silt  loam  and  the  Eden  clay.  It  is  largely 
confined  to  the  eastern  and  southeastern  parts  of  the  county.  The 
slope  is  in  places  sufficient  to  permit  rapid  run-off,  resulting  at  times 
in  rather  excessive  drainage. 

In  average  seasons  the  phase  is  nearly  as  productive  as  the  typical 
soil,  if  well  farmed,  but  in  a  series  of  years  the  yields  do  not  equal 
those  obtained  on  the  main  type.  The  greater  slope  and  the  slight 
tendency  to  erode  in  certain  areas  also  render  it  less  desirable. 
Practically  all  of  it  is  cleared  and  approximately  75  per  cent  is  used 
for  annual  farm  crops.  The  remainder  includes  land  used  for  per- 
manent pasture,  small  areas  somewhat  eroded,  and  inextensive  tim- 
bered, tracts.  Here  the  growth  consists  of  oak,  maple,  liickor}',  and 
walnut 

Grass  for  hay  or  pasturage,  wheat,  corn,  and  tobacco  are  the  chief 
crops,  named  in  order  of  acreage.  There  is  a  tendency  to  grow  a 
minimum  acreage  of  cultivated  crops  and  more  grass  and  grain 
erops  than  on  the  typical  soil,  owing  to  the  tendency  to  wash.  The 
phase  is  regarded  as  good  tobacco  land.  It  produces  a  good  grade 
of  leaf.  Tobacco  and  wheat  are  money  crops,  the  others  being  grown 
mainly  as  subsistence  products.  The  phase  is  farmed  in  conjunction 
with  larger  adjoining  areas  of  the  main  type,  under  the  same  meth- 


40 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OP   SOILS,   1916. 


ods.  As  only  small  tracts  are  included  in  individual  farms,  its  sale 
value  differs  little  from  that  of  the  main  type. 

It  is  quite  generally  recognized  that  a  large  part  of  this  phase  can 
best  be  used  for  grass  and  grain  ci'ops,  on  account  of  the  tendency 
to  wash.  In  an  average  season  it  may  be  profitably  farmed  to  tilled 
crops,  but  it  should  be  returned  to  grass  as  soon  as  possible. 

In  the  following  table  are  given  the  average  results  of  mechanical 
analyses  of  samples  of  the  soil,  subsoil,  and  lower  subsoil  of  the 
typical  Shelbyville  silt  loam: 

Mechanical  analyses  of  Shelbyville  silt  loam. 


Number. 

Description.      J^f^^^ 

Coarse 
sand. 

Medium 
sand. 

Fine 
sand. 

Veryflne 
sand. 

Silt. 

Clay. 

391007  ,391018,  391042.. 

391008,  391019,  391043.. 

391009,  391020,  391044.. 

Soil 

Subsoil 

Lower  subsoil. 

Percent. 
0.3 
.3 
.2 

Per  cent. 
2.1 
1.6 
2.1 

Per  cent. 
1-4 
1.1 
1.3 

Per  cent. 
2.2 
1.9 
3.9 

Per  cent. 
5.4 
4.0 
4.3 

Per  cent. 
12.  a 
65.9 
50.4 

Per  cent. 
16.2 

25.2 
37.8 

CINCINNATI    SILT   LOAM. 


The  surface  soil  of  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam  is  a  light-brown  to 
yellowish-brown  friable  silt  loam,  ranging  in  depth  from  6  to  10 
inches.  It  is  underlain  abruptly  by  yellow  or  yellowish-brown,  stiff 
silty  clay  or  silty  clay  loam  which  quickly  passes  into  stiff  silty  clay. 
The  lower  subsoil  is  characteristically  plastic  and  sticky  and  of  a 
pale-yellow  color,  often  with  a  greenish  cast  or  of  a  mottled  pale- 
yellow  and  grayish  color.  In  places  there  is  considerable  rusty- 
brown  and  black  concretionary  material  in  the  subsoil,  such  ma- 
terial making  it  less  plastic  but  probably  not  less  impervious.  Usu- 
ally, however,  stiffer  clay  is  reached  in  the  lower  part  of  the  3-foot 
section,  even  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  the  concretionary  ma- 
terial in  the  subsoil  above,  than  in  the  case  of  the  Shelbyville  silt 
loam. 

The  substratum  consists  of  mottled  gray  and  yellow,  plastic  clay 
extending  to  the  bedrock,  which  is  encountered  at  depths  of  5  to  12 
feet  below  the  surface.  Cuts  indicate  that  there  is  only  a  thin  layer 
of  partially  disintegrated  material  overlying  the  bedrock,  and  that 
the  surface  of  the  rock  conforms  fairly  closely  to  the  surface  fea- 
tures of  the  soil.  Rock  fragments  are  very  scarce,  although  there  are 
some  rounded  bowlders  in  places  on  the  surface  and  through  th? 
soil  section.  As  mapped  there  are  included  on  eroded  slopes  patches 
of  Cincinnati  clay  and  silty  clay  loam  and  of  Shelbyville  silt  loam. 

This  soil  is  fairly  typical  throughout  a  belt  crossing  the  county 
on  the  west  side  of  Bullskin  Creek.  To  the  east  of  this  belt,  where 
the  type  grades  toward   the   Shelbyville   silt  loam,   it   frequently 


SOIL   SURVEY   or   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTTJCKY.  41 

has  a  deeper  surface  soil,  of  a  darker  brown  color,  and  a  less  pro- 
nounced 3^ellow  subsoil,  which  is  less  stiff  than  typical.  The  soil 
here  consists  of  a  light  to  medium  brown  silt  loam  8  to  10  inches 
deep,  underlain  by  a  moderately  stiff  to  plastic,  yellow  or  brownish- 
yellow  silty  clay  loam,  which  at  a  depth  of  24  to  30  inches  rests  upon 
a  brownish-yellow  silty  clay  or  clay.  This  is  usually  mottled  with 
gray  and  rusty  brown.  In  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the 
county  the  texture  is  slightly  lighter  than  a  silt  loam  in  several 
places.  The  surface  soil  grades  toward  gray  rather  than  brown  and 
the  subsoil  is  quite  typically  yellow  throughout.  In  the  same  part 
of  the  county  occasional  red  mottlings  aj^pear  in  the  subsoil. 

A  gi'avelly  area  on  and  near  the  top  of  Jeptha  Knob  is  mapped 
with  this  soil.  The  gravel  consists  of  angular  and  subangular  chert 
fragments,  occurring  on  the  surface  and  through  the  soil  section. 
The  soil  here  is  in  part  colluvial.  This  area  is  indicated  on  the  map  by 
gravel  symbols. 

The  Cincinnati  silt  loam  is  the  predominant  soil  in  the  western 
half  of  the  county,  where  its  continuity  is  broken  only  by  areas  of 
Shelby ville  silt  loam  along  Fox  Run  and  Bullskin  Creek.  Isolated 
areas  occur  along  the  main  Kentucky-Salt  River  divide  from  a  point 
near  Christianburg  northward  to  the  Henry  County  line.  Another 
area  lies  about  5  miles  south  of  Shelbyville,  and  a  few  small  areas 
around  the  base  of  Jeptha  Knob. 

Typical  areas  have  a  gently  rolling  topography  similar  to  that  of 
extensive  areas  of  Shelbyville  silt  loam.  Here  and  there  rolling 
areas  or  steep  slopes  occur.  Over  considerable  areas  of  the  type 
both  the  run-off  and  the  subsurface  drainage  are  somewhat  slow,  on 
account  of  the  slight  slope  and  the  rather  impervious  character  of 
the  subsoil.  In  other  places  the  drainage  is  adequate  under  normal 
conditions.    None  of  the  type  is  poorly  drained. 

Only  occasional  small  trees  of  the  original  timber  growth  remain, 
consisting  of  beech,  ash,  poplar,  and  black  locust. 

The  Cincinnati  silt  loam  is  the  second  most  extensive  and  most 
important  soil  in  the  count3\  It  covers  approximately  one-third 
of  the  county.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  small  tracts  here  and 
there  all  of  it  is  in  cultivation.  The  type  has  a  medium  organic- 
matter  content,  is  fairly  retentive  of  moisture,  and  is  comparatively 
easily  tilled.    As  a  rule  it  warms  up  rather  slowly  in  the  spring. 

Grass  for  hay  and  pasture,  corn,  and  wheat  are  the  chief  crops, 
followed  by  oats,  tobacco,  rye,  and  fruits.  A  larger  acreage  is  in 
grass  than  in  all  other  crops  combined.  Hay  is  the  leading  crop, 
consisting  mainly  of  timothy  alone  or  timothy  and  clover  mixed. 
Other  grasses  are  orchard  grass,  clover,  and  bluegrass.  The  greater 
part  of  the  hay  and  corn  is  fed  to  stock,  but  a  small  percentage  is 


42  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 

sold  locally.  The  acreage  in  bluegrass  is  comparatively  small.  Com 
for  silage  and  for  seed  is  widely  grown.  Wheat  is  almost  entirely  a 
money  crop.  Tobacco  is  not  grown  extensively,  and  is  largely  con- 
fined to  portions  of  the  type  adjacent  to  the  Shelby ville  silt  loam. 
The  quality  is  fair.  Fruit  is  produced  only  in  home  orchards.  Gen- 
eral farming  on  a  medium  to  large  scale,  with  a  tendency  toward 
specialization  in  dairying,  is  the  predominating  type  of  agriculture. 
The  live-stock  industries  consist  of  dairying,  hog  and  sheep  raising, 
and  the  raising  of  some  beef  cattle.  On  account  of  the  easy  accessi- 
bilit}^  of  much  of  the  type  there  has  been  quite  an  extension  of  the 
dairy  industry  within  the  last  few  years.  An  abundance  of  forage 
crops  is  usually  available.  The  dairy  farmers  keep  from  8  to  2.5 
cows,  mainly  pure-bred  and  grade  Jerseys,  and  the  dairies  usually 
are  efficiently  managed.  The  dairy  products  are  shipped  to  dis- 
tributors and  creameries  in  Louisville. 

On  a  few  farms  wheat  and  tobacco  are  the  chief  sources  of  income, 
with  the  sale  of  live  stock  and  products  as  accessory  sources.  On 
others  dairy  products  form  practically  the  only  source  of  revenue. 
On  still  others  dairy  products,  live  stock,  wheat,  and  small  amounts 
of  other  crops  are  sold. 

Wheat  yields  from  10  to  20  bushels  per  acre  in  favorable  seasons, 
but  yields  as  low.  as  6  bushels  per  acre  have  been  obtained.  Corn 
yields  vary  from  20  to  90  bushels  per  acre,  but  under  efficient  man- 
agement the  yields  range  from  50  to  75  bushels  in  the  average  season. 
Silage  corn  yields  5  to  8  tons  per  acre.  Hay  yields  range  from  three- 
fourths  ton  to  1^  tons  per  acre.  Tobacco  yields  from  700  to  1,500 
pounds  per  acre,  the  higher  yields  being  obtained  on  areas  of  the  type 
which  grade  toward  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam. 

The  farming  methods  on  this  type  range  from  efficient  to  poor. 
On  the  whole  it  is  not  as  well  farmed  as  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam, 
but  better  farmed  than  the  remainder  of  the  soils.  There  are  many 
efficiently  managed  farms  on  this  tj^pe,  mainly  in  a  belt  bordering  the 
Shelbyville  silt  loam.  Crops  are  generally  rotated.  Sod  land  is 
broken  for  corn,  which  is  followed  by  wheat,  and  this  by  grass. 
Timothy  is  usually  sown  in  the  fall  and  clover  in  the  spring,  and 
land  is  kept  in  grass  for  two  to  five  years  or  more.  Tillage  is  gen- 
erally efficient,  modern  machinery  and  a  good  grade  of  work  stock 
being  used.  The  farm  buildings  range  from  adequate  to  poor.  Silos 
are  fairly  numerous  in  the  sections  where  dairying  is  carried  on. 
Considerable  plant  food  is  returned  to  the  soil  in  the  form  of  ma- 
nure, and  in  addition  cowpeas  are  grown  for  soil  improvement.  Com- 
mercial fertilizers  are  in  more  general  use  than  on  the  Shelbyville 
silt  loam,  being  used  for  tobacco,  corn,  and  wheat.  The  applications 
are  light  and  consist  of  complete  mixtures  or  mixtures  of  bone  meal 
and  acid  phosphate,  while  a  few  farmers  apply  lime. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  43 

The  sale  value  of  this  land  depends  largely  upon  its  location,  the 
character  of  the  surrounding  farms,  and  the  farm  improvements. 
Farms  at  present  sell  for  $60  to  $100  or  more  an  acre. 

Good  markets  and  transportation  facilities  favor  dairying  and  the 
industry  should  be  extended.  The  production  of  forage  could  be 
increased  if  the  leguminous  crops,  such  as  cowpeas,  were  grown 
more  extensively,  both  for  their  nitrogen-gathering  qualities  and  as 
sources  of  organic  matter.  Applications  of  lime  would  greatly  im- 
prove the  chances  of  getting  a  stand  of  clover,  and  would  also 
increase  the  3delds.  In  places  the  type  drains  rather  slowly,  and 
the  planting  of  crops  is  sometimes  delayed.  Artificial  drainage 
would  be  beneficial  over  such  areas.  While  crops  seldom  suffer  from 
drought,  deeper  plowing,  the  adding  of  organic  matter,  and  frequent 
cultivation  would  reduce  the  chances  of  loss  from  this  source.  Many 
of  the  attempts  to  grow  alfalfa  have  failed  because  attention  was 
not  given  to  inoculation,  liming,  or  other  methods  of  proper  prepara- 
tion of  the  soil.  The  crop  may  be  successfully  grown  over  portions 
of  the  type  with  proper  care.  Sweet  clover  is  suggested  as  a  valuable 
crop  to  precede  alfalfa.  In  places  where  there  is  sufficient  slope  the 
soil  has  a  tendency  to  erode,  and  such  areas  should  be  kept  in  grass 
and  grain  crops  as  much  as  possible.  The  Kentucky  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station  has  a  cooperative  experiment  field  at  Lincoln 
Ridge,  where  a  study  is  being  made  in  the  use  of  fertilizers,  crop 
adaptation,  and  farming  methods  on  this  type. 

Cincinnati  silt  loam,  rolling  fhase. — The  rolling  phase  has  a  lighter 
colored  and  shallower  surface  than  the  typical  Cincinnati  silt  loam, 
as  well  as  a  slightly  heavier  and  tougher  subsoil, 'owing  to  the  lesser 
depth  to  bedrock.  Also,  there  is  less  gray  mottling  and  less  con- 
cretionary material  in  the  subsoil.  This  phase  consists  of  about  6 
inches  of  grayish  to  yellowish-brown  silt  loam,  underlain  by  a  yellow 
silty  clay  or  silty  clay  loam  passing  into  silty  clay.  The  deep  sub- 
soil is  a  tough  or  plastic  silty  clay  or  clay,  often  sticky.  In  places 
there  are  gray  mottlings  and  some  rusty-brown  and  black  concre- 
tions, but  the  characteristic  color  is  yellow,  frequently  with  a  green- 
ish cast.  The  phase  is  in  general  free  from  rock  outcrops,  but  oc- 
casionally there  is  a  partly  rounded  bowlder  on  the  surface  or  em- 
bedded in  the  soil.  Where  erosion  has  been  severe  the  gullies  in 
places  have  cut  down  to  bedrock.  As  mapped,  the  phase  includes 
small  patches  of  Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam  and  clay  and  a  shallow 
phase  of  the  silt  loam. 

The  greater  part  of  this  phase  lies  within  the  drainage  basin  of 
Floycls  Fork,  where  it  covers  a  belt  of  varying  width  along  the 
western  side  of  the  county.  Some  small  areas  are  not  mapped  sepa- 
rately, being  included  with  the  typical  soil. 


44 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 


The  phase  as  a  whole  has  a  rolling  topography,  varying  in  places 
to  sloping  or  hilly.  There  is  more  surface  relief  and  a  more  extensive 
drainage  S3^stem  than  over  the  typical  Cincinnati  silt  loam.  The  run- 
off is  fairly  rapid,  but  underdrainage  is  necessarily  slow. 

This  phase  is  rather  extensive,  and  the  greatest  part  of  it  is  farmed. 
The  uncultivated  land  includes  small  patches  which  have  never 
been  cleared  and  fields  formerly  cultivated  but  now  somewhat  eroded 
and  allowed  to  grow  up  to  w'eeds  and  brush.  The  soil  is  apparently 
deficient  in  organic  matter.  It  holds  a  medium  amount  of  moisture 
for  growing  crops  and  is  moderately  productive.  It  seems  better 
adapted  to  grasses  and  grain  than  tilled  crops. 

Grasses  for  hay  and  pasturage  are  grown  on  the  largest  acreage. 
Probably  more  of  the  phase  is  used  for  pasture  than  for  all  crops 
combined.  Corn  is  an  important  crop,  but  tobacco  is  seldom  grown. 
Live-stock  farming  is  not  well  developed,  although  part  of  the  farm 
income  is  derived  from  the  sale  of  stock.  General  farming  predomi- 
nates. The  yields  range  with  the  season,  sometimes  being  as  high 
as  those  obtained  on  the  typical  soil  and  sometimes  considerably 
lower. 

There  is  apparently  a  tendency  to  keep  most  of  this  soil  in  grass 
and  grain.  This  plan  should  be  generally  followed,  on  account  of 
the  erosion  on  exposed  surfaces.  Winter  cover  crops  would  serve  to 
protect  the  surface  during  the  winter  season  and,  in  addition,  in- 
crease the  low  organic-matter  content  when  plowed  under  in  the 
spring.  The  growing  of  leguminous  crops,  such  as  cowpeas,  either 
for  seed  or  for  plowing  under,  would  be  very  beneficial.  With  the 
use  of  lime  the  production  of  clover  may  be  materially  increased. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  results  of  mechanical  analy- 
ses of  samples  of  the  soil,  subsoil,  and  low^er  subsoil  of  the  typical 
Cincinnati  silt  loam  and  of  its  rolling  phase : 


Mechanical  analyses  of  Cincinnati  silt  loam. 


Number. 

Description. 

Fine 
gravel. 

Coarse 
sand. 

Medium 
sand. 

Fine 
sand. 

Very  fine 
sand. 

Silt. 

Clay. 

Typical  soil: 
391010,391027. 

Soil 

Per  cent. 

0.1 

.0 

.5 

0.7 
.2 
.1 

Per  cent. 

0.8 

.7 

2.0 

1.0 
.6 

.4 

Per  cent. 

0.6 

.5 

.9 

0.4 
.3 
.3 

Per  cent. 

1.3 

.9 

1.8 

1.3 
2.0 
2.2 

Per  cent. 
5.5 
5.2 
3.3 

8.0 
5.7 
5.8 

Per  cent. 

75.7 
67.8 
63.4 

71.7 
54.2 
39.9 

Per  cent. 
15  8 

391011,391028. 
391012,391029. 
Rolling  phase: 
391030,391033. 

Subsoil 

Lower  subsoil. 

Soil 

24.8 
27.9 

16  8 

391031,391034. 
391032,391035. 

Subsoil 

Lower  subsoil . 

36.6 
51.2 

The  following  sample  contained  more  than  one-half  of  1  per  cent  calcium  carbonate  (CaCOa):  No.  391035, 
10.70  per  cent. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  45 


CINCINNATI    SILTY  CLAY   LOAM. 


The  top  soil  of  the  Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam  consists  of  yellowish- 
brown  silty  clay  loam  or  a  thin  covering  of  light-brown  to  yellowish- 
brown  silt  loam  over  yellowish  silty  clay  loam.  At  depths  of  3  to  8 
•inches  yellow  silty  clay  is  reached.  This  abruptly  passes  into  yellow 
or  greenish-yellow,  sticky,  plastic  clay,  containing  fewer  concre- 
tions, as  a  rule,  than  occur  in  the  subsoil  of  the  silt  loam  type.  Over 
much  of  the  type  more  or  less  of  the  surface  soil  has  been  removed, 
resulting  in  the  exposure  of  the  yellow  clay  in  patches  on  slopes. 
Rock  fragments  and  outcrops  seldom  occur.  Perhaps  half  of  the 
type   has  a  yellow  silty  clay  loam  as  the  surface  material. 

This  type  occurs  along  streams  in  the  western  part  of  the  county, 
almost  wholly  within  the  drainage  basin  of  Floyds  Fork.  The 
surface  is  sloping  to  rolling  or  hilly,  and  the  drainage  is  good.  In 
places  the  run-off  frequently  carries  away  some  of  the  soil. 

Practically  all  of  the  Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam  has  been  cleared 
and  farmed.  At  present  most  of  it  supports  a  rather  poor  stand 
of  grass  and  is  used  for  pasturage.  The  remainder  has  grown  up  to 
brush.  More  efficient  methods  of  handling  these  areas,  such  as  keep- 
ing them  in  grass  and  maintaining  the  supply  of  organic  matter, 
would  have  minimized  the  destructive  action  of  erosion.  Small 
tracts  here  and  there  are  in  cultivation  to  grain,  corn,  and  grass, 
which  give  medium  yields.  Some  areas  are  growing  up  to  black 
locust.     There  is  some  walnut  and  considerable  redbud  and  sassafras. 

The  sale  value  of  this  soil  alone  would  be  low.  It  is  sold  in  connec- 
tion with  farms  located  mainly  on  the  silt  loam,  bringing  $40  to  $80 
an  acre. 

Care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  the  further  erosion  of  this  soil. 
It  should  be  kept  in  grass  as  much  as  possible.  Sweet  clover  would 
doubtless  be  successful  if  the  soil  were  properly  limed,  and  should 
prove  an  effective  means  of  reclaiming  the  land.  Exceptionally 
rough  areas  should  be  reforested. 


EDEN    SILT   LOAM. 


The  Eden  silt  loam  consists  of  a  pale-yellow  loam  to  an  aver- 
age depth  of  about  6  inches,  passing  abruptly  into  yellow  silty  clay 
to  clay.  At  18  to  24  inches  the  material  is  yellow  silty  clay, 
mottled  with  pale  yellow  and  gray  and  rusty  brown.  The  surface 
soil  though  compact  is  fairly  friable.  The  upper  subsoil  is  usually 
stiff.  The  lower  subsoil  is  tough  and  impervious  wdien  dry,  and 
plastic  and  impervious  when  wet.  The  lower  subsoil  continues  with 
little  change  to  the  bedrock,  which  is  usually  encountered  at  4  to  10 


46  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE  BUEEAtJ   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

feet  below  the  surface.  The  surface  soil  is  practically  free  from 
rock  fragments,  but  small  pieces  of  calcareous  shale  are  common  in 
the  subsoil. 

The  depth  of  the  surface  soil  ranges  from  4  to  8  inches,  and  where 
the  yellow  upper  subsoil  material  is  especially  close  to  the  surface 
its  incorporation  with  the  surface  soil  by  plowing  has  resulted  in  a 
yellowish-gray  color  for  the  latter.  In  the  upper  subsoil  a  few  faint 
mottlings  sometimes  occur,  but  as  a  rule  the  yellow  color  is  more 
pronounced  and  extends  to  greater  depths  than  in  the  case  of  the 
silty  clay  loam  of  the  series.  The  type  grades  on  the  one  hand  into 
the  Eden  clay,  which  usually  covers  the  slopes  of  the  divides  occu- 
pied by  this  soil,  and  on  the  other  toward  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam, 
which  usually  covers  slightly  higher  elevations  in  the  same  general 
region.  As  mapped,  small  areas  of  the  latter  type  are  doubtless  in- 
cluded, as  the  boundary  is  in  many  places  somewhat  arbitrarily 
placed. 

The  Eden  silt  loam  occurs  onh-  in  the  hill  section  of  the  eastern 
and  southeastern  parts  of  the  count5^  It  occupies  comparatively 
narrow,  high  divides  or  spurs.  The  areas  are  for  the  most  part 
small  and  have  a  rounded  or  gently  sloping  contour.  There  is 
usually  sufficient  slope  to  allow  much  of  the  rainfall  to  be  lost  as 
run-off,  although  no  drainage  ways  traverse  the  numerous  areas. 
The  internal  drainage  is  somewhat  slow  on  account  of  the  imper- 
vious subsoil  and  substratum. 

The  Eden  silt  loam  is  not  extensive,  but  practically  all  of  it  is  in 
cultivation  to  corn,  tobacco,  wheat,  and  grass.  It  is  an  important 
soil  in  the  hill  section  of  the  county  where  it  frequently  produces 
the  greater  part  of  the  grain  and  grass  crops,  as  it  has  the  most  favor- 
able topography.  Its  organic-matter  content  is  apparently  rather 
low.  Crops  seldom  suffer  from  drought,  as  the  soil  is  fairly  retentive 
of  moisture.    The  type  is  fairly  productive. 

Grass  crops  lead  in  acreage,  followed  by  corn,  grain,  and  tobacco. 
Almost  none  of  the  type  is  used  for  pasture  except  sod  land  in  the 
fall.  Few  farms  are  located  wholly  on  this  soil,  and  the  income  is 
derived  from  farming  the  adjoining  Eden  clay  areas  in  conjunction. 
The  latter  are  used  for  pasturage  and  also  provide  the  acreage  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  tobacco  and  a  small  part  of  the  corn,  but  very 
little  of  the  grain  and  grass.  The  farm  income  is  derived  from  the 
sale  of  tobacco  and  live  stock  and  of  the  excess  of  other  crops  such 
as  corn,  wheat,  and  hay.  No  branch  of  live-stock  farming  is  spe- 
cialized in.  Cattle  are  raised  and  small  numbers  are  sold  from  time 
to  time.  Some  of  the  farmers  raise  a  surplus  of  hogs,  others  sheep, 
and  some  raise  both.  Dairy  cows  are  kept  mainly  to  supply  home 
needs. 


SOIL  SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,   KENTUCKY. 


47 


As  a  rule  yields  are  lower  than  on  the  typical  Shelbyville  silt  loam. 
Tobacco  yields  from  700  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  corn  25  to  70 
Taushels,  wheat  10  to  20  bushels,  and  hay  an  average  of  1  ton. 

The  soil  is  farmed  in  much  the  same  manner  as  the  Shelbyville 
silt  loam.  The  farms  and  individual  fields  are  smaller,  and  a  higher 
proportion  of  the  farm  work  is  done  by  the  owners.  Crops  are 
rotated  in  a  general  way.  All  the  stable  manure  is  applied  to  cul- 
tivated crops.    The  methods  of  cultivation  are  fairly  efficient. 

Land  values  depend  closely  upon  the  adjoining  soils.  Farms  con- 
taining a  fairly  high  percentage  of  good  arable  land  of  this  and  other 
types  sell  for  $40  to  $60  an  acre. 

Crop  yields  would  be  increased  by  supplying  organic  matter  to 
the  soil.  Leguminous  crops,  such  as  cowpeas,  do  well  and  may  be 
used  both  to  supply  forage  and  for  soil  improvement.  The  growing 
of  winter  cover  crops  such  as  rye  would  also  prove  beneficial.  It  is 
probable  that  liming,  in  conjm-iction  with  the  above  treatment,  would 
greatly  increase  the  chances  of  obtaining  good  yields  of  clover. 

In  the  following  table  are  shown  tjie  results  of  mechanical  analyses 
of  samples  of  the  soil,  subsoil,  and  lower  subsoil  of  the  Eden  silt 
loam : 

Mechanical  analyses  of  Eden  silt  loam. 


Number. 

Description. 

Fine 
gravel. 

Coarse 
sand. 

Medium 
sand. 

Fine 
sand. 

Very  fine 
sand. 

Silt. 

Clay. 

391001 

Soil 

Per  cent. 

0.2 

.1 

.1 

Per  cent. 

1.2 

1.0 

.6 

Per  cent. 

0.9 

.9 

.6 

Per  cent. 
1.2 
1.9 

2.8 

Per  cent. 
4.6 
3.4 
4.6 

Per  cent. 
79.3 
55.2 
38.4 

Per  cent. 
12  5 

391002 

Subsoil 

Lower  subsoil. 

37  6 

391003 

53  1 

EDEN    CLAY. 


The  surface  soil  of  the  Eden  clay  consists  of  a  pale-yellow  to  yel- 
low clay  with  an  average  depth  of  6  inches.  At  depths  of  3  to  8 
inches  yellow  silty  clay  is  reached,  which  passes  abruptly  at  18  to  20 
inches  into  a  mottled  pale  yellow  and  gray  plastic  clay  which  is  quite 
sticky  when  moist  and  tough  when  dry.  Frequently  there  are  rusty- 
brown  and  black  concretions  or  concretionary  material  and  grayish 
and  pale-yellow  mottlings,  but  usually  the  lower  subsoil  is  a  plastic 
and  impervious  clay  continuing  to  a  depth  of  3  feet  or  more.  This 
low^er  subsoil  clay,  Avhich  frequently  has  a  greenish  cast,  extends  to 
bedrock.  This  is  usually  encountered  at  depths  of  4  to  10  feet  or 
more.  Small  fragments  of  partially  decomposed  shale  are  often 
visible  in  the  subsoil  where  exposed,  and  slablike  fragments  of  lime- 
stone frequently  occur  on  the  surface. 

The  typical  Eden  clay,  conforming  to  the  above  description,  oc- 
curs in  virgin  or  recently  broken  areas  or  in  fields  Avhich  have  been 


48  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU    OF    SOILS,   1916. 

carefully  farmed  for  a  period  of  years.  In  manj^  cases  the  yellow 
upper  subsoil  has  been  incorporated  with  the  surface  soil  by  plowing, 
giving  the  whole  a  yellowish-gray  color.  In  places,  especially  over 
virgin  areas,  there  is  a  2  to  4  inch  veneer  of  gray  silt  loam,  which  is 
incorporated  with  the  deeper  material  upon  plowing.  On  cultivated 
slopes  where  the  surface  soil  has  been  washed  off  in  places  by  gullies 
which  frequently  extend  to  bedrock  the  surface  soil  is  conspicuously 
yellow  and  thickly  strewn  with  small  shale  fragments,  with  a  lesser 
amount  of  those  from  thicker  limestone.  Areas  of  this  character  are 
numerous.  Their  irregular  outline,  small  size,  and  promiscuous 
occurrence  w^ould  make  their  mapping  as  an  eroded  phase  of  the  type 
difficult.  Over  especially  steep  slopes,  where  very  little  soil  has  accu- 
mulated, a  medium  to  dark  gray,  sticky,  silty  clay  has  developed. 
Outcrops  occur,  and  flat  limestone  fragments  are  fairly  common  on 
the  surface.  On  some  of  the  lower  slopes  the  soil  is  deeper,  owing  to 
the  accumulation  of  material  Avashed  down  from  above. 

The  Eden  clay  is  the  predominant  soil  type  in  the  hill  section  of 
the  eastern  and  southeastern  parts  of  the  county.  It  occurs  in  asso- 
ciation with  the  Eden  silt  loam,  which  occupies  many  of  the  divides, 
and  also  occurs  on  steep  slopes  along  Guists  and  Jeptha  Creeks  Avithin 
the  area  of  Shelbyville  soils. 

The  type  covers  the  roughest  parts  of  the  county.  Adjacent  to  the 
Shelbyville  soils  on  the  west  it  occupies  narrow  V-shaped  valleys, 
with  the  silt  loam  of  the  same  series  on  the  lateral  divides.  Farther 
to  the  east,  where  the  several  branches  or  valleys  join,  the  ridges 
become  lower  and  narrower,  and  this  tj-pe  occurs  alone,  as  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sixmile  and  Benson  Creeks  and  the  Middle  Fork  of 
Crooked  Creek. 

A  highly  ramified  drainage  system  is  characteristic  of  this  type. 
The  run-off  is  very  rapid,  on  account  of  the  steep  slope  and  the  im- 
pervious subsoil.  The  streams  have  a  steep  gradient  and  flow  over 
rocky  beds.  On  exposed  surfaces  erosion  is  very  active,  and  the 
growing  of  cultivated  crops  has  resulted  in  the  erosion  of  many 
acres  of  good  farming  land  to  such  an  extent  that  its  abandonment 
has  been  necessary. 

As  the  Eden  clay  is  the  predominant  type  in  the  sections  where  it 
occurs,  it  is  of  considerable  agricultural  importance.  A  much  smaller 
percentage  is  in  cultivated  and  grass  crops  than  in  the  case  of  other 
types.  Approximately  To  per  cent  of  the  type  has  been  in  cultiva- 
tion, but  at  present  probably  not  over  25  per  cent  is  in  use  for  culti- 
vated and  grass  crops.  The  remainder  consists  of  fields  which  have 
become  eroded  and  are  now  abandoned  to  brush  and  used  for  pas- 
tures, and  also  of  land  which  has  never  been  broken  and  supports  a 
growth  of  small  timber  and  brush.  The  results  in  carefully  farmed 
fields  show  that  the  prevention  of  erosion  is  possible.     Agricultural 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY    COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  49 

development  has  been  retarded  by  the  steep  topography,  the  ease  of 
erosion,  and  the  careless  methods  of  farming.  The  type  is  fairly 
productive  and  moderateh'^  retentive  of  moisture.  It  ^Avarms  up 
rather  early  in  the  spring.  The  steep  slope  renders  tillage  operations 
somewhat  difficult,  and  certain  modern  farm  machinery  can  not  be 
used. 

General  farming  on  a  small  scale,  with  tobacco  as  the  money  crop, 
is  carried  on  almost  universally.  Corn  and  grass  are  the  leading 
crops.  The  live-stock  industries  are  of  minor  importance,  although 
some  income  is  derived  from  the  sale  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  To- 
bacco is  grown  mainly  in  small  fields  on  virgin  soil  or  on  the  newest 
land  available.  The  leaf  is  of  good  grade  and  commands  a  high 
price.  The  cultivated  area  is  scattered  over  the  type,  frequently 
consisting  of  small  patches  in  fields  which  were  once  wholly  in  culti- 
vation. As  a  rule  areas  of  most  favorable  topography  were  cleared 
first;  later  many  of  these  were  abandoned,  and  the  recent  clearings 
are  mainly  on  very  steep  slopes.  The  trees  are  girdled,  the  brush 
cleared,  and  the  land  devoted  to  tobacco. 

The  yields  range  widely,  but  average  low^er  than  for  most  other 
types.  Tobacco  yields  from  700  to  1,000  pounds  per  acre,  corn  20  to 
50  bushels,  hay  about  1  ton,  and  wheat  5  to  20  bushels. 

The  farming  methods  are  practically  the  same  as  on  the  other 
types.  The  fields  are- plowed  in  the  spring  and  planted  as  early  as 
possible.  Sod  land  is  used  for  cultivated  crops  to  a  large  extent. 
Smaller  farm  machinery  and  more  hand  labor  are  required  than  on 
types  of  more  favorable  topography.  The  fields  are  frequently  kept 
in  cultivation  for  a  period  of  years  without  the  use  of  winter  cover 
crops  or  seeding  to  grass.  Careless  methods  are  largely  responsible 
for  the  nonagricultural  character  of  large  areas.  Where  fields  be- 
come eroded  they  are  turned  out  without  being  seeded  to  grass. 

Land  values  on  this  tj^pe  vary  from  $10  to  $40  an  acre,  depending 
upon  the  location  and  state  of  cultivation.  When  this  land  is  sold 
in  conjunction  with  the  Eden  or  Shelby ville  silt  loams  it  commands 
a  higher  price.     There  is  no  great  demand  for  this  type  of  land. 

The  first  need  of  this  soil  is  the  prevention  of  erosion,  by  such 
means  as  the  growing  of  winter  cover  crops,  which  protect  the  sur- 
face from  washing  and  provide  organic  matter  to  be  plowed  under 
in  the  spring.  The  contouring  of  the  rows  of  cultivated  crops  and 
the  leaving  of  narrow  strips  in  gra&s  would  tend  to  check  erosion. 
The  type  would  be  benefited  by  a  crop  rotation  allowing  a  long 
period  in  grass.  The  grass  land  could  be  advantageously  used  for 
furnishing  hay  and  pasturage  for  the  increased  number  of  stock 
which  could  be  maintained  under  such  a  system.  The  reclaiming  of 
the  areas  which  are  too  badly  eroded  for  farming  is  fully  as  impor- 


50 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 


tant,  and  more  difficult,  than  the  prevention  of  future  erosion.  Grass 
comes  in  slowly,  especially  over  the  eroded  spots.  Sweet  clover  has 
been  a  successful  and  profitable  crop  in  the  reclamation  of  similar 
land  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  It  grows  abundantly  along  the 
highways,  but  no  effort  has  been  made  to  plant  the  crop  in  fields. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  results  of  mechanical 
analyses  of  samples  of  the  soil,  subsoil,  and  lower  subsoil  of  the  Eden 
clay: 

Mechanical  analyses  of  Eden  clay. 


Number. 

Description. 

Fine 
gravel. 

Coarse 
sand. 

Medium 
sand. 

Fine 
sand. 

Very  fine 
sand. 

Silt. 

Clay. 

391004,391024... 
391005,391025... 
391006,391026... 

Soil 

Per  cent. 

0.2 

.3 

.1 

Per  cent. 
1.0 
1.0 
.8 

Per  cent. 

0.8 

.6 

.6 

Per  cent. 
2.1 
5.2 
2.6 

Per  cent. 
4.8 
5.7 
5.3 

Per  cent. 
58.2 
42.5 
44.6 

Per  cent. 
32.8 

Subsoil 

Lower  subsoil . 

44.6 
45.9 

HAGEESTOWN    SILT   LOAM. 


The  Hagerstown  silt  loam  consists  of  a  brown,  mellow  silt  loam, 
underlain  at  8  to  12  inches  by  reddish-brown  or  reddish-yellow  silt 
loam.  This  quickly  grades  into  reddish-yellow  or  dull-red  silty  clay, 
which  extends  to  a  depth  of  3  feet  or  more.  The  type  is  free  from 
rock  fragments,  and  rock  outcrops  occur  only  where  the  type  breaks 
away  to  lower  lying  soils.  Iron  stains  and  mottlings  do  not  appear 
within  the  3-foot  section.  Bedrock  is  encountered  at  depths  ranging 
from  5  to  15  feet. 

This  type  as  mapped  includes  all  soil  areas  in  which  a  reddish  color 
is  developed  in  either  the  surface  soil  or  subsoil,  and  comprises  a 
number  of  small  areas  of  slightly  varying  character  which  if  more 
extensive  would  be  mapped  as  distinct  types  or  phases.  In  places  the 
surface  soil  consists  of  8  to  12  inches  of  slightly  reddish  broAvn  to 
brownish-red,  mellow  silt  loam,  which  grades  very  slowly  into  a  light 
reddish  brown  to  yellowish-red  silty  clay  loam  subsoil.  Such  areas 
belong  to  the  Decatur  series.  The  red  color  is  usually  pronounced 
over  shallow  areas  near  the  numerous  sinks,  and  along  the  marked 
change  in  topography  which  generally  separates  this  from  the  lower 
soil  types. 

The  Hagerstown  silt  loam  covers  isolated  areas  of  10  to  200  acres  or 
more  in  the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  the  county,  associated 
with  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam  and  its  rolling  phase.  It  occupies  flat 
to  slightly  sloping  or  undulating,  narrow  ridge  tops  and  benches.  Its 
structure  permits  good  internal  drainage.  No  stream  courses  traverse 
the  various  areas. 

The  type  consists  of  the  weathered  products  of  rather  massive  lime- 
stone. Its  bedding  on  similar  formations  largely  accounts  for  its 
characteristic  topography. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OP   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  51 

This  type  is  not  A'eiy  important  agriculturally  on  account  of  its 
small  extent,  but  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  soils  in  the  county. 
All  of  it  is  in  cultivation.  The  soil  contains  a  moderate  amount  of 
organic  matter,  and  is  retentive  of  moisture.  Approximately  equal 
acreages  are  devoted  to  corn,  grain,  and  hay.  A  small  portion  of  the 
type  is  used  for  pasture.  Yields  are  practically  the  same  as  those  ob- 
tained on  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam. 

Few  farms  are  located  on  this  type  alone,  so  that  the  sale  value  de- 
pends to  some  extent  upon  the  character  of  the  surrounding  soils, 
some  of  which  are  of  comparatively  low  agricultural  value.  The  type 
is  located  at  some  distance  from  markets.  The  farms  sell  for  $50  to 
$85  an  acre. 

ELK    SILT   LOAM. 

The  Elk  silt  loam  consists  of  a  light-brown  to  brown,  mellow  silt 
loam  underlain  at  10  or  12  inches  by  light-brown  or  yellowish-brown 
silty  clay  loam  which  in  many  places  overlies  at  about  20  inches  a 
mottled  yellow  and  gray,  plastic  clay  loam  or  silty  cla}^  This  soil 
with  the  mottled  lower  subsoil  is  not  typical  of  the  Elk  series.  The 
mottled  and  plastic  character  of  the  lower  subsoil  is  not  so  common 
in  the  case  of  narrow  areas  where  the  drainage  is  well  established, 
the  light-brown  or  yellowish-brown  material  here  extending  to  a  depth 
of  3  feet  or  more.  The  line  of  separation  between  this  and  the  asso- 
ciated first  bottoms  in  places  is  rather  indefinite,  but  usually  the  bound- 
ary is  distinct.  In  some  instances  terrace-like  areas  along  streams 
are  covered  by  residual  soils,  such  terraces  representing  stream-cut 
benches  rather  than  those  built  up  of  stream-deposited  material. 

The  Elk  silt  loam  is  mapped  in  a  few  strips  along  Sixmile,  Bull- 
skin,  and  Brashears  Creeks.  The  largest  area  is  about  2  miles  soutli- 
east  of  Finchville,  occupying  an  abandoned  meander  of  Brashears 
Creek.  The  surface  is  practically  level.  The  type  lies  10  to  25  feet 
above  the  normal  level  of  the  streams,  and  drainage  is  usually  ade- 
quate, but  sometimes  it  is  retarded  by  the  rather  impervious  sub- 
stratum and  the  level  surface.  A  few  small  tracts  would  be  bene- 
fited by  artificial  drainage. 

Practically  all  of  this  soil  is  in  cultivation  to  corn,  grain,  and 
grass.  Part  of  it  is  used  for  pasturage.  Good  yields  are  usually 
obtained,  as  the  type  is  productive.  The  surface  soil  has  a  moder- 
ately high  organic-matter  content  and  is  easy  to  cultivate.  The 
subsoil  in  places  does  not  permit  the  free  movement  of  air  and  water, 
and  artificial  drainage  is  necessary.  This  condition  occurs  mainly 
on  areas  adjacent  to  slopes  from  which  the  type  receives  drainage 
or  seepage. 

The  selling  value  of  this  type  depends  largely  on  the  adjoining 
types,  as  it  seldom  occurs  in  sufficiently  large  tracts  to  be  sold  by 


52  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF  THE'  BUREAU   OP   SOILS,   1916. 

itself.     Together  with  the  surrounding  types  it  sells  for  $50  to  $100 
an  acre. 

HUNTINGTON   SILT  LOAM. 

The  Huntington  silt  loam  consists  of  a  brown,  mellow  silt  loam 
underlain  at  10  or  12  inches  by  slightly  lighter  brown  to  j^ellowish- 
brown  silty  clay  loam,  which  extends  to  a  depth  of  3  feet  or  more. 
Along  many  of  the  smaller  streams  the  narrower  strips  of  this  type 
are  not  mapped. 

Strips  of  the  Huntington  silt  loam  occur  in  the  central  and  south- 
central  parts  of  the  county,  chiefly  along  Fox  Run  and  Bullskin, 
Clear,  Guists,  and  Brashears  Creeks.  It  lies  6  to  10  feet  above  the 
normal  level  of  the  creeks,  and  is  subject  to  infrequent  short  periods 
of  overflow.     At  all  other  times  the  drainage  is  adequate. 

The  Huntington  silt  loam  is  a  relatively  unimportant  type,  al- 
though practically  all  of  it  is  under  cultivation  to  corn,  grain,  and 
grass,  or  is  used  for  pasture.  Good  yields  are  obtained  and  crops 
are  seldom  damaged  by  overflow.  Scattered  trees  along  the  stream 
banks  furnish  abundant  shade  for  cattle  during  the  heated  portions 
of  summer  days,  and  water  for  stock  is  abundant. 

This  is  a  productive  soil,  and  as  a  rule  it  is  well  farmed.  Its  value 
for  providing  pasturage  is  recognized.  The  greater  part  of  it  lies 
within  that  part  of  the  county  devoted  largely  to  dairying  and  other 
live-stock  industries.  No  farms  are  located  wholly  on  this  type.  In 
conjunction  with  the  adjoining  soils  it  sells  for  $50  to  $100  an  acre. 

SUMMARY. 

Shelby  County  is  situated  in  the  north-central  part  of  Kentucky. 
It  has  a  maximum  length,  east  and  west,  of  24  miles,  and  a  maximum 
width  of  22  miles.    Its  area  is  382  square  miles,  or  244,480  acres. 

The  county  lies  wdthin  the  Lexington  Plain,  a  broadly  undulating 
to  rolling  area  within  which  the  divides  have  a  fairly  common  eleva- 
tion, ranging  from  750  to  900  feet  above  sea  level.  The  stream 
courses  in  the  larger  valleys  lie  600  to  700  feet  above  sea  level.  The 
county  comprises  three  fairly  distinct  upland  topographic  divisions, 
the  rolling  to  hilly  area  in  the  eastern  and  southeastern  parts,  the 
undulating  to  broadly  rolling  areas  covering  the  central  part,  and 
the  rolling  areas  in  the  western  and  an  area  south  of  Jeptha  Knob  in 
the  southeastern  part. 

The  county  is  well  drained.  The  greater  part  of  its  area  drains 
in  a  general  west-of-south  direction  through  tributaries  of  the  Salt 
River.  The  northeastern  and  eastern  parts  drain  eastward  and 
northeastward  through  tributaries  of  the  Kentucky  River. 

The  settlement  of  the  county  dates  from  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  present  population  consists  chiefly  of  de- 
scendants of  the  early  settlers  of  this  and  surrounding  counties.     The 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  53 

population  of  Shelby  County  in  1910  was  18,041,  and  is  all  classed  as 
rural  except  the  population  of  Shelbyville,  3,412.  The  rural  popu- 
lation averages  34.4  persons  per  square  mile.  All  parts  of  the  county 
are  well  settled. 

The  county  is  well  supplied  with  railroad  facilities.  Through  and 
local  passenger  and  freight  service  is  maintained  by  several  lines. 
An  extensive  system  of  limestone-surfaced  roads  or  pikes  covers  all 
parts  of  the  county,  radiating  in  a  general  way  from  Shelbyville, 
the  county  seat. 

As  the  population  in  towns  is  comparatively  small,  all  the  excess 
farm  crops  and  products  must  find  outside  markets.  Milk  and 
cream  are  shipped  to  Louisville.  Live-stock  products  are  shipped 
to  various  packing  centers.  Mules  are  shipped  to  southern  markets. 
AVheat  is  sold  locally  for  home  consumption  and  for  shipment  to  out- 
side markets. 

The  winters  are  short  and  not  very  severe.  The  summers  are  long 
and  usuall}^  pleasant.  The  mean  winter  temperature  is  34.5°  F. ; 
tlie  summer  mean,  75.5°  F. ;  and  the  annual  mean,  55.4°  F.  The  mean 
annual  precipitation  of  44.08  inches  is  quite  equally  distributed 
throughout  the  year.  The  average  length  of  the  growing  season  is 
180  days.  Climatic  conditions  are  favorable  for  the  growing  of  a 
wide  variety  of  crops. 

From  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  agriculture  has  been  the 
chief  industry.  General  farming  together  with  dairying  and  other 
branches  of  the  live-stock  industry  predominate.  Tobacco  is  the 
nlost  important  money  crop.  Wheat  ranks  next.  Hemp  is  a  minor 
income  crop.  Corn,  hay,  and  other  forage  crops  are  largely  fed  at 
home,  but  in  some  seasons  a  small  percentage  is  sold  locally.  Except 
for  the  imported  concentrated  feeds,  the  county  produces  sufficient 
subsistence  for  its  needs.  It  is  noted  for  its  pure-bred  dairy  and 
other  stock. 

The  industries  of  Shelby  County  are  entirely  agricultural.  The 
soils  are  productive  and  are  fairly  well  farmed.  Comparatively 
little  of  the  farm  income  is  expended  for  commercial  fertilizers.  The 
grade  of  work  stock  is  good.  Modern  machinery  is  in  general  use 
and  most  of  the  farms  present  an  attractive  appearance. 

Acording  to  the  census  there  were  2,301  farms  in  the  county  in 
1910  with  an  average  size  of  103.9  acres,  of  which  90.7  per  cent 
was  improved  land.  Over  79  per  cent  of  the  total  area  of  the  county 
is  improved  land.  Of  all  the  farms  61.4  per  cent  are  operated  by 
the  owners,  37.5  per  cent  by  tenants,  and  1.1  per  cent  by  managers. 
The  average  value  of  all  farm  property  in  1910  was  $8,016,  of  which 
65.6  per  cent,  or  $50.65  an  acre,  represented  the  land  value. 

The  special  crops,  tobacco  and  hemp,  rank  first  in  value,  followed 
by  the  cereals.     The  cereals  lead  in  acreage,  occupying  about  60  per 


54  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF  THE   BUREAU   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

cent  of  the  cultivated  area,  and  are  followed  in  order  by  hay  and 
forage  crops  and  special  crops.  The  percentage  values  of  crops  and 
live-stock  products  are  61  and  39,  respectively. 

Well-located  farms  sell  for  $100  to  $140  an  acre.  Farms  at  a 
greater  distance  and  slightly  less  desirable  sell  for  $75  to  $100  an  acre. 
In  the  hill  section  land  values  range  from  $20  to  $60  an  acre. 

The  soils  of  the  county  are  divided  into  two  groups — the  residual 
types  of  the  uplands  and  the  alluvial  types  of  the  stream  terraces  and 
bottoms,  the  latter  being  comparatively  inextensive.  The  residual 
soils  consist  of  the  weathered  products  of  limestones  and  shales  and 
are  classed  in  the  Shelbyville,  Cincinnati,  Eden,  and  Hagerstown 
series.  The  alluvial  soils  consist  of  reworked  material  washed  from 
one  or  more  of  the  residual  series  and  are  classified  in  the  Elk  series 
on  the  terraces  and  in  the  Huntington  series  on  the  first  bottoms. 

The  Shelbyville  silt  loam,  with  its  rolling  phase  and  shallow  phase, 
co^•ers  an  extensive  area  in  the  central  part  of  the  county.  These 
soils  are  brown  in  color  and  friable.  The  subsoils  are  also  brown, 
with  faint  mottlings  in  the  lower  part  of  the  3-foot  section.  The 
surface  is  undulating  to  gently  rolling,  and  drainage  is  good.  These 
soils  comprise  many  of  the  best  farms  of  the  county.  Corn,  tobacco, 
wheat,  hay,  and  pasture  grasses  are  the  chief  crops. 

The  Cincinnati  silt  loam,  Avith  a  rolling  phase,  and  silty  clay  loam 
are  the  predominating  soils  in  the  western  part  of  the  county.  The 
surface  soils  are  light  brown.  The  subsoils  are  yellow  and  heavy, 
and  markedly  mottled  below  a  depth  of  24  inches.  The  topography 
is  gently  rolling  to  rolling,  resulting  in  adequate  drainage.  Corn, 
wheat,  hay,  and  pasture  grasses  are  the  principal  crops. 

The  Eden  silt  loam  and  clay  cover  the  greater  part  of  the  hill  sec- 
tion in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county.  They  are  characterized  by 
gray  surface  soils  and  yellow  to  mottled  yellow  and  gray  lower  sub- 
soils, which  are  stiff  and  impervious.  The  surface  ranges  from 
steeply  sloping  to  rolling  and  hilly.  Tobacco,  corn,  hay,  and  pasture 
grasses  are  the  main  crops.  A  considerable  area  has  been  eroded 
under  careless  management  and  is  not  at  present  under  cultivation. 

The  Hagerstown  silt  loam  has  a  brown  surface  soil  and  a  reddish- 
brown  to  yellowish-red  subsoil.  All  of  the  type  is  in  cultivation  to 
corn,  grain,  and  grass. 

The  Elk  silt  loam  is  characterized  by  a  light-brown  soil  and  a 
yellowish-brown  to  mottled  yellow  and  gray  subsoil.  The  surface  is 
level  and  the  drainage  is  good.  All  of  the  type  is  cultivated  to  corn, 
grain,  and  grass. 

The  Huntington  silt  loam  covers  first  bottoms  along  some  of  the 
larger  creeks.  The  soil  is  brown  and  the  subsoil  is  light  brown.  All 
of  the  type  is  used  for  corn,  grass,  or  pasture. 


CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  SOILS  OF  SHELBY 
COUNTY,  KENTUCKY. 

By  S.  D.  AVERITT,  of  the  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 


INTRODUCTION. 

In  the  following  discussion  of  fertility  of  the  different  types  of 
soil  in  Shelby  County,  as  described  in  this  report  and  shown  in  the 
accompanying  map,  it  will  be  assumed  that  the  dry  soil  over  an  acre, 
to  the  depth  of  7  inches,  weighs  2,000,000  pounds.  Seven  inches  is 
about  the  depth  to  which  the  soils  are  plowed  and  there  are  few  crops 
whose  roots  feed  to  more  than  a  limited  extent  below  this  depth. 
The  subsoil  on  an  acre,  from  7  to  20  inches,  is  assumed  to  weigh 
4,000,000  pounds.  In  order  to  convert  percentages  to  pounds  per 
acre  it  is  only  necessary  to  multiply  by  2,000  for  surface  and  4,000 
for  subsoil. 

The  following  table  shows  the  amount  of  nitrogen,  phosphorus, 
and  potassium  contained  in  the  principal  crops  grown  in  Kentucky, 
calculated  for  the  yields  indicated : 

Amounts  of  nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and  potassium  contained  in  various  crops. 


Crop. 

Nitrogen. 

Phospho- 
rus. 

Potassium. 

Corn,  50  bushels  per  acre,  contains 

Pounds. 
50 
30 

Pounds. 
10 
7 

Pounds. 
10 

29 

Total 

80 

17 

39 

30 
7.5 

5 
.6 

5 

Straw  of  same,  li  tons 

15 

Total 

37.  S 

5.6 

20 

Oats,  25  bushels  per  acre,  contains 

Straw  of  same,  2  tons 

20 
21 

3.5 
3.5 

5 
40 

Total 

44 

7 

45 

40 
10 

2.2 
.8 

50 

Stalks  from  same,  300  pounds 

10 

Total 

50 

3 

6a 

Red  clover,  2  tons  per  acre 

80 

10 

01) 

55 


56  FIELD   OPERATIONS    OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    SOILS,   1918. 

These  tiguies  will  be  used  in  the  discus:iion  rehitive  to  the  limiting 
factors  in  the  production  of  profitable  crops.  The  three  elements, 
nitrogen,  phosphorus,  and  potassium,  are  the  ones  supplied  by  com- 
mercial fertilizers,  and  since  all  three  are  absolutely  necessary  to 
plant  growth,  deficiencies  m  any  one  of  this  group  will  limit  crop 
production.  The  figures  for  nitrogen,  in  the  tabulation  of  analyses, 
represent  total  nitrogen;  how  much  is  available  it  is  not  possible  to 
say.  It  would  be  a  safe  statement,  however,  to  say  that,  in  the  long 
cultivated  soils  of  Shelby  County,  nitrogen  is  undoubtedly  one  of 
the  limiting  factors  in  the  production  of  profitable  crops. 

The  supply  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil  to  the  depth  plowed  is 
largely  a  matter  of  crop  rotation,  cultivation,  and  care,  and  since 
it  is  mainly  from  the  organic  matter  that  the  nitrogen  of  crops  is 
derived,  the  discussion  of  this  element  is  left  to  come  under  that  of 
legumes  in  the  rotation. 

With  these  few  preliminary  statements  in  mind  it  is  possible  to 
discuss  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  the  different  types  of  soil 
found  in  Shelby  County,  with  reference  to  the  plant  food  they  con- 
tain and  the  requirements  of  the  crops  usually  grown  on  them. 

SHELBYVILLE    SILT    LOAM. 

This  is  the  most  important  type  in  the  county  and,  as  mapped  and 
described  in  this  report,  is  a  type  in  Avhich  there  exists  a  considerable 
range  in  the  phosphorus  content.  This  is  due  to  the  origin  of  this 
soil.  It  is  bedded  on  the  rocks  of  the  Maysville  formation,  which 
consists  of  several  strata  of  limestone  varying  rather  widely  m 
phosphorus  content.  Two  analyses  of  one  of  these  limestones  (the 
Arnheim,  the  uppermost  member)  reported  by  the  Kentucky  Geo- 
logical Survey,  show  0.35  and  0.39  per  cent  phosphorus,  respectively, 
an  amount  quite  sufficient  to  place  it  in  the  phosphatic  class. 
Analyses  of  the  other  members,  from  the  same  authority,  show  from 
a  trace  to  0.15  per  cent  phosphorus. 

Eeference  to  the  table  of  analyses  of  these  soils  shows  from  1,400 
to  4,200  pounds  of  total  phosphorus  in  the  acre — 7  inches,  with  an 
average  of  2,400  pounds.  There  is  an  average  of  5,600  pounds  in  the 
next  acre- foot,  or  subsoil.  Of  easily  soluble  phosphorus  there  is  an 
average  of  66  pounds  in  the  surface  soil  and  256  pounds  in  the  sub- 
soil. The  individual  analyses,  however,  show  a  wide  range  (soil,  12 
to  300  pounds;  subsoil,  28  to  1,512  pounds)  and  a  marked  deficiency 
of  phosphorus  is  shown  in  about  half  of  the  samples  analyzed.  At 
many  places  within  the  boundary  of  this  type,  as  mapped,  the  soils 
would  undoubtedly  respond  to  the  application  of  phosphatic  fer- 
tilizers. The  supply  of  total  potassium  is  ample.  There  is  an  aver- 
age of  230  pounds  of  easily  soluble  potassium  in  the  surface  soil  and 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF    SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  57 

376  pounds  in  the  subsoil.  While  the  amount  of  easily  soluble 
potassium  is  below  the  average  in  quite  a  number  of  cases,  it  is  not 
likely  that  any  of  the  well-drained  soils  would  respond  to  potassium. 
There  is  no  decided  tendency  to  acidity  in  the  soil  of  this  type, 
but  the  use  of  ground  limestone  will  generally  be  necessary  for  the 
best  results  with  most  legumes;  indeed,  the  use  of  limestone  in  this 
connection  can  not  be  too  strongly  emphasized,  as  it  is  becoming 
increasingly  difficult,  on  the  long-cultivated  areas,  to  grow  clover 
without  it. 

CINCINNATI  SILT  LOAM. 

This  type  stands  second  in  agricultural  importance  in  the  county. 
It  is  derived  mainly  from  the  rocks  of  the  Richmond  formation. 
The  Arnheim  limestone,  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Shelby- 
ville  silt  loam,  occurs  near  the  boundary  of  the  Shelbyville  and  Cin- 
cinnati silt  loams,  and  samples  of  the  latter  collected  near  this 
boundary  sometimes  contain  a  much  larger  quantity  of  phosphorus 
than  generally  obtains  in  the  type. 

An  examination  of  the  tabulated  analyses  representing  this  type 
shoAYs  from  1,000  to  3,400  pounds  of  total  phosphorus  in  the  surface 
soil,  with  an  average  of  2,200  pounds.  In  the  subsoil  there  is  an 
average  of  5,200  pounds  of  total  phosphorus.  Of  easily  soluble 
phosphorus  there  are  from  6  to  154  pounds,  with  an  average  of  48 
pounds  in  the  surface  soil  and  an  average  of  188  pounds  in  the  sub- 
soil. Except  near  the  boundary  between  this  type  and  the  Shelby- 
ville silt  loam,  as  noted  above,  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam  is  deficient  in 
easily  soluble  phosphorus  and  probably  will  respond  to  the  appli- 
cation of  phosphatic  fertilizers.  The  supply  of  potassium,  both  total 
and  easily  soluble,  is  as  large  as  in  the  Shelbyville  silt  loam,  and  the 
observations  under  the  type  apply  equally  well  to  this  type. 

A  cooperative  experiment  field  of  the  Kentucky  Agricultural  Ex- 
periment Station,  with  Lincoln  Institute,  is  located  on  the  Cincinnati 
silt  loam  at  Lincoln  Ridge.  Laboratory  Nos.  43506  and  43507  in 
the  tabulated  analyses  represent  soil  and  subsoil  from  this  field. 
In  the  field  experiments  covering  four  years,  corn,  soy  beans,  and 
clover  have  been  grown.  All  crops  have  responded  well  to  phos- 
phorus and  limestone  when  used  together.  Clover  and  soy  beans 
have  responded  well  to  limestone.  Potassium  has  shown  no  profit- 
able increase  in  any  crop. 

CINCINNATI  SILT  LOAM,   ROLLING  PHASE. 

In  the  rolling  phase  of  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam  there  are  from 
1,000  to  1,400  pounds  of  total  phosphorus,  with  an  average  of  1.200 
pounds  in  the  surface  soil,  and  an  average  of  2,400  pounds  in  the 
subsoil.     Of  easily  soluble  phosphorus  there  is  an  average  of   14 


58  FIELD   OPEEATIONS  OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 

pounds  in  the  surface  soil.    Reference  to  the  table  on  page  55  shows 
that  this  is  not  sufficient  for  a  50-bushel  crop  of  corn. 

In  order  that  these  soils  may  be  made  reasonably  productive  the 
organic-matter  content  must  be  increased  and  phosphorus  must  be 
supplied.  The  rational  and  most  economical  way  to  do  this  is  to 
grow  clover  or  some  other  legume,  with  the  aid  of  ground  lime- 
stone and  phosphatic  fertilizers.  The  supply  of  total  potassium  is 
ample,  and  there  is  a  good  supply  of  easily  soluble  potassium.  The 
only  attention  necessary  to  maintain  the  supply  of  easily  soluble  po- 
tassium is  to  increase  and  keep  up  the  organic  matter,  which,  in  the 
process  of  decay,  will  render  available  the  potassium  in  its  more  in- 
soluble compounds. 

CINCINNATI  SILTY  CLAY  LOAM. 

The  analyses  of  the  Cincinnati  silty  clay  loam  are  so  much  like 
those  of  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam,  rolling  phase,  that  a  separate  dis- 
cussion is  not  necessary.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  tabulated  analyses 
that  there  is  an  average  of  146  pounds  of  easily  soluble  potassium  in 
the  surface  and  330  pounds  in  the  subsoil.  If  the  organic  matter 
content  is  increased  and  maintained  the  amount  of  potassium  avail- 
able' will  be  sufficient  for  profitable  crops. 

EDEN    SILT   LOAM.  . 

The  Eden  silt  loam  occupies  the  tops  of  ridges  and  lies  just  above 
the  Eden  clay.  The  higher  content  of  sand  and  the  lower  con- 
tent of  clay  in  the  lighter  textured  type  is  due  to  the  character  of  the 
materials  from  which  the  type  is  derived.  The  analyses  of  this  soil 
are  so  similar  to  those  of  the  Cincinnati  silt  loam,  rolling  phase,  that 
the  discussion  of  that  phase  applies  here,  with  the  exception  that  in 
the  Eden  soil  there  is  less  easily  soluble  potassium  than  in  the  phase. 

EDEN   CLAY. 

The  soil  of  this  type  has  resulted  from  the  disintegration  of 
alternating  shales  and  thin  limestones  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
Eden  formation.  The  analyses  representing  this  type  show  that  it  is 
'characterized  by  a  large  amount  of  total  potassium  in  both  surface 
and  subsoil.  This  feature  has  been  noted  in  the  Eden  soils  of  P^rank- 
lin,  Madison,  Scott,  and  other  counties.  The  total  potassium  is  about 
dou])le  that  in  the  other  types.  There  is  an  average  of  nearly  300 
pounds  of  easily  soluble  potassium  in  the  surface  and  nearly  500 
pounds  in  the  subsoil.  There  is  an  average  of  52  pounds  of  easily 
soluble  phosphorus  in  the  surface  and  over  GOO  pounds  in  the  subsoil. 
This  is  a  fairly  good  supply  of  easily  soluble  phosphorus.  It  is  not 
likely  that  this  soil  will  respond  very  materially  to  phosphoi-us, 
especially  with  the  crops  usually  grown  on  it.     While  there  is  more 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF    SHELBY    COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  59 

easily  soluble  calcium  than  in  the  other  t^^pes,  it  is  not  present  as  the 
carbonate  and  the  soil  has  a  decided  tendency  to  acidity.  For  this 
reason  the  application  of  ground  limestone  should  increase  the 
growth  of  clover  and  other  legumes. 

HAGERSTOWN    SILT  LOAM. 

The  Hagerstown  silt  loam  is  bedded  on  Silurian  rocks.  The  plant 
food  content  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  Cincinnati  silt 
loam,  rolling  phase. 

HUNTINGTON   SILT  LOAM  AND  ELK  SILT  LOAM. 

The  Huntington  silt  loam  and  the  Elk  silt  loam  are  very  inexten- 
sive,  being  confined  chiefly  to  the  bottoms  and  probably  second  bot- 
toms of  Brashear  and  Bullskin  Creeks  in  the  southwestern  and  cen- 
tral-western parts  of  the  county.  Both  types  lie  near  the  boundary 
of  the  Shelbyville  and  Cincinnati  silt  loams  and  are  very  closely  as- 
sociated Avith  the  Arnheim  limestone.  No  discussion  of  these  types 
is  necessary.  Inspection  of  the  tabulated  analyses  shows  an  abun- 
dance of  total  and  easily  soluble  phosphorus  in  both  soil  and  subsoil. 
The  easily  soluble  potassium  will  be  ample,  provided  the  organic 
matter  content  is  increased  and  maintained. 

PERMANENT    FERTILITY. 

The  maintenance  of  soils  in  a  state  of  profitable  productiveness  is 
of  first  importance.  The  first  essential  in  permanent  fertility  is  the 
maintenance  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  which,  in  the  process  of 
decay,  in  addition  to  furnishing  nitrogen,  renders  available  the  phos- 
phorus and  potassium  locked  up  in  insoluble  compounds. 

From  the  table  on  page  55  it  will  be  seen  that  a  2-ton  crop  of  clover, 
if  plowed  under,  would  add  to  the  soil  about  80  pounds  of  nitrogen, 
a  large  part  of  which,  presumably,  has  come  from  the  atmosphere 
through  the  action  of  root-nodule  bacteria.  This  shows  the  impor- 
tance in  grain  growing  of  giving  legumes  a  prominent  place  in  the 
rotation  in  order  to  maintain  the  supply  of  organic  matter  and  nitro- 
gen in  the  soil. 

Another  important  fact  to  be  deduced  from  a  study  of  the  table 
referred  to  is  that  in  grain  farming  a  large  part  of  the  plant  food 
removed  in  the  crop  may  be  returned  to  the  soil  in  the  stalks  and 
straw.    This  is  especially  true  in  the  case  of  potassium. 

Nitrogen-gathering  crops  (legumes),  grown  in  the  rotation,  will 
not  maintain,  much  less  increase,  the  organic-matter  supply  unless 
the  crop  residues  (stalks  and  straw)  are  returned,  either  directly  or 
by  carefully  conserving  and  returning  them  in  the  form  of  manure. 
Catch  crops  and  cover  crops  should  be  turned  under  and  the  second 


60  FIELD   OPERATIONS    OF   THE   BUREAU   OF    SOILS,   1916. 

crop  of  clover,  where  it  is  grown  in  rotation,  should  be  left  on  the 
ground.  The  application  of  ground  limestone,  usually  to  grow  the 
nitrogen-gathering  crops,  is  necessary  on  long-cultivated  soils  to  cor- 
rect acidity,  so  that  bacterial  action  in  the  soil  may  be  promoted.  In 
the  soils  low  in  phosphorus  that  element  must  be  supplied.  In  soils 
well  supplied  with  organic  matter  this  may  be  done  most  economically 
with  ground  rock  phosphate.  But  if  the  organic-matter  content  is 
low  some  more  available  form  of  phosphorus  should  be  used.  If  ma- 
nure is  available,  50  pounds  of  rock  phosphate  per  ton  of  manure 
makes  a  very  effective  fertilizer. 

SUMMARr  or  RESULTS  OF  ANALYSES. 
METHOD  OF  SAMPLING  THE  SOILS. 

The  sampling  was  done  uniformly  in  all  cases  as  follows:  On  a 
thoroughly  representative  area  of  the  type  or  phase,  selected  after 
mapping,  with  a  soil  auger,  such  as  used  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  sam- 
ples of  surface  soil,  0  to  6  inches,  and  subsoils,  6  to  18  inches,  were 
taken.  In  the  case  of  the  surface  soils,  a  composite  sample  from  a 
dozen  or  more  borings  was  used  in  the  analyses.  The  subsoils  were 
made  up  of  material  from  about  half  of  the  borings  made  for  the 
surface  soils.  After  these  samples  were  air-dried  they  were  ground 
in  a  wedgewood  mortar  to  pass  a  2-millimeter  sieve  and  thoroughly 
mixed.  Some  of  the  sample  was  then  ground  to  powder  for  total  K, 
P,  and  N  determinations.  The  N/5  IINO3  digestion  was  made  on  the 
2-millimeter  material.^ 

1  Methods  of  soil  analysis  used  in  making  the  determinations  in  the  following  table  are 
as  follows  : 

Total  N,  plain  Kjeldahl,  5  hours  digestion. 

Total  P,  magnesium  nitrate  method.     Journal  of  A.  O.  A.  C,  vol.  1,  No.  4,  p.  25. 

Total  K,  the  modified  J.  L.  Smith  method,  as  adopted  by  the  A.  O.  A.  C.  in  1909.  See 
Bureau  of  Chemistry  Bulletin  No.  132  and  Bulletin  No.  122,  p.  116,  for  method. 

N/5  HNO3  digestion  for  easily  soluble  K,  P,  and  Ca  150  grams  water-free  soil  digested 
in  1,500  c.  c.  N/5  HNO3  for  5  hours  at  room  temperature.  One  thousand  c.  c.  clear  fil- 
trate evaporated  to  dryness  and  treated  twice  with  HCl  to  get  rid  of  HNO.^?,  taken  up 
with  HCl  and  water  and  the  silica  filtered  out  and  washed,  the  filtrate  made  to  100  c.  c. 
Aliquots  of  10  c.  c,  50  c.  c,  and  32.2  c.  c.  were  taken  for  Ca,  P,  and  K,  respectively. 
CaO  to  neutralize.  The  method  is  essentially  that  given  in  the  Journal  of  A.  O.  A.  C, 
vol.  1,  No.  4,  p.  25.  One  c.  c.  St.  KOH=0.004  grams  CaCOg  or  to  0.01  per  cent  instead 
of  0.001  per  cent  as  stated  in  the  method. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,   KENTUCKY. 


61 


Chemical  analyses  of  important  soils  of  Shelly  County,  Kentucky.     Results 
stated  on  the  iasis  of  moisture-free  sample, 

SHELBYVILLE  SILT  LOAM. 


Sample  No.i 


Total 
nitrogen 

(N). 


Total 
phos- 
phorus 
(P). 


Phos- 
phorus 
(P)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 


Total 
potas- 
sium 
(K). 


Potas- 
sium 

(K)  dis- 
solved by 

N/5 

H^^03. 


Calcium 
(Ca)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 


Lime 
(CaO) 
to  neu- 
tralize. 


51354 

61355 

51356 

51358 

B1359 

51360 

51361 

513622 

51363^ 

51369 

51370 

513S3 

51384 

61385 

51386 

61387 

51390 

51391 

51405 

50672 

Average,  0-6  inches. 

Ma.ximum 

Minimum 

Average,  6-18  inches 

Ma.ximum 

Minimum 


Percent. 
0.104 

.068 
.140 
.148 
.064 
.120 
.086 
.190 
.106 
.204 
.140 
.102 
.128 
.064 
.132 
.074 
.182 
.104 
.150 
.144 

.143 
.204 
.102 
.086 
.140 
.064 


Per  cent. 
0.09 
.11 
.11 
.09 
.08 
.07 


Per  cent. 
0.0020 
.0024 
.0039 
.0007 
.0007 
.0006 
.0007 
.0011 
.0008 
.0026 
.0008 
.0018 
.0047 
.0378 
.0037 
.0016 
.0150 
.0044 
.0012 
.0007 

.0033 
.0150 
.0006 
.0064 
.0378 
.0007 


Per  cent. 
1.58 

1.52 
1.58 
1.57 
1.64 
1.52 
t.46 
1.36 
1-U 

1.41 
1.39 
1.46 
1.65 
2.07 
1.34 
1.45 
1.39 
1.63 
1.23 
1.34 

1.466 
1.650 
1.230 
1.567 
2.070 
1.390 


Per  cent. 
0. 0142 

.0093 
.0127 
.0090 
.0101 
.0139 
.0099 
.0108 
.0095 
.0113 
.0090 
.0079 
.0098 
.0076 
.0178 
.0102 
.0076 
.0121 
.0103 
.0100 

.0115 
.0178 
.0076 
.0094 
.0102 
.0076 


Per  cent . 
0.105 
.132 
.276 
.122 
.101 
.114 
.100 
.129 
.056 
.362 
.273 
.116 
.199 
.680 
.127 
.112 
.410 
.167 
.141 
.109 

.183 
.410 
.105 
.208 
.680 
.056 


Per  cent. 
0.001 
.003 
.0005 
002 
.002 
.002 
.033 
.004 
.079 

.002 
.0005 
.083 
.001 
.001 
{'-)  - 
.004 
.002 
.018 

.003 
.018 
0 
.026 
.079 


CINCINNATI  SILT  LOAM. 


51357 

0.130 
.142 
.080 
.144 
.056 
.088 
.048 
.170 
.070 
.128 
.060 
.086 

0.12 
.17 
.20 
.06 
.07 
.13 
.16 
.08 
.08 
.12 
.12 
.05 

0.0049 
.0077 
.0125 
.0004 
.0004 
.0051 
.0067 
.0006 
.0012 
.0023 
.0028 
.0003 

1.56 
1.44 
t.5G 
1.43 
1.59 
1.53 
'.77 
1.31 
1.40 
1.45 
1.54 
1.35 

0.  0076 

.  ooso 

.  0075 
.0179 
.0180 
.0009 
.  00H8 
.0136 
.  0069 
.0108 
.0105 
.0063 

0.181 
.168 
.179 
.084 
.096 
.135 
.165 
.096 
.076 
.111 
.198 
.069 

0.0005 

51372  

.003 

5/373 

.006 

51374  

.004 

61375 

.003 

51376   

.003 

5/377 

.088 

51381  

.006 

B13S2 

.073 

51388 

.003 

61389       

.00S6 

51392. 

.004 

Note. 


I  Kentucky  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  number. 
'  Nos.  51,362  and  51,363  were  collected  from  virgin  soils. 
3  Neutral;  sample  contained  0.1  per  cent  CaCOj. 
*  Neutral;  sample  contained  0.046  per  cent  CaCOj. 
5  Slightly  alkaline;  sample  contained  0.202  per  cent  CaCOi. 
-Results  in  italics  are  for  subsoils. 


62 


FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF    THE   BUREAU    OF    SOILS,   1916. 


Chemical  analyses  of  important  soils  of  Shelby  County,  Kentucky — Continued. 
CINCINNATI   SILT  LOAM— Continued. 


Sample  No. 

Total 
nitrogen 

(N). 

Total 
phos- 
phorus 
(P). 

Phos- 
phorus 
(P)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 

Total 
potas- 
sium 
(K). 

Potas- 
sium 
(K)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 

Calcium 
(Ca)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 

Lime 
(CaO) 
to  neu- 
tralize. 

51397  

Percent. 

0.130 

.162 

.142 

.114 

Per  ecnt. 

0.14 

.09 

.13 

.10 

.11 
.17 

.05 
.13 

.20 
.06 

Percent. 

0.0026 

.0009 

.0006 

.0007 

.0024 
.0077 
.0003 
.0047 
.0125 
.0004 

Per  cent. 
1.57 
1.29 
1.23 
1.40 

1.415 
1.570 
1.230 
1.572 
1.770 
1.400 

Percent. 

0.0056 

.0177 

.0083 

.0074 

.0101 
.0179 
.0056 
.0103 
.0180 
.0069 

Per  cent. 

0.130 

.116 

.101 

.117 

.119 
.181 
.069 
.143 
.198 
.076 

Per  cent. 
0.002 

51398 

003 

51399  

.004 

51400       

0025 

Average,  0-6  inches 

Maximum 

.131 
.170 

.0032 
.006 

Minimum       

.086 
.063 
.080 
.048 

002 

Average  6-18  inches 

Maximum 

Minimum 

.0345 

.0880 
.0030 

CINCINNATI   SILT  LOAM,  ROLLING  PHASE. 


CINCINNATI  SILTY  CLAY  LOAM. 


51378     

0.104 
.054 
.114 
.152 
.120 
.076 

.122 
.152 
.104 
.065 
.076 
.054 

0.07 
.07 
.05 
.05 
.05 
.05 

.06 
.07 
.05 

.06 
.07 
.05 

0. 0006 

.0005 
.0007 
.0006 
.0007 
.0006 

.0007 
.0007 
.0006 
.0006 
.  0006 
.0005 

1.34 
L46 
1.45 
1.54 
1.52 
1.59 

L46 

1.54 

1.34 

1.525 

1.59 

1.46 

0. 0076 
.  0060 
.0160 
.0108 
.0114 
.0114 

.0114 
.0160 
.0076 
.0087 
.0114 
.0060 

0.100 
.133 
.143 
.197 
.110 
.117 

.140 
.197 
.100 
.125 
.133 
.117 

0  004 

61379 

.006 

51380 

.001 

51406 

.001 

43506 

.0015 

43507 

.0705 

Average,  0-6  inches 

.0019 
.0040 

.0010 

Average,  6-lS  inches 

.0082 
.0105 

.0060 

61393      

0.110 
.054 
.116 
.056 

.113 
.116 
.110 
.055 
.056 
.054 

0.08 

.12 
.06 
.05 

.07 
.08 
.06 
.09 
.12 
.05 

0.  0007 
.0007 
.0005 

.0005 

.0006 
.0007 
.0005 
.0006 
.0007 
.0005 

1.51 

1.98 
1.44 

l.?3 

1.475 
1.510 
1.440 
1.605 
1.980 
1.230 

0.0074 

.0091 
.0072 
.0076 

.0073 
.0074 
.0072 
.0083 
.0091 
.0076 

0.160 

.179 
.116 

.142 

.138 
.160 
.116 
.160 
.179 
.142 

0  001 

61S94 

61395 

.167 
001 

61S96 

.oot 

Average,  0-6  inches 

Maximum 

.OOi 
.OOi 
001 

Average,  6-18  inches. .   . . 

.084 
167 

Minimum 

001 

EDEN  CLAY. 


61350. 
51S51. 
51366. 
B1S67. 
51368. 


0.140 
.060 
.080 
.056 
.130 


0.09 
.14 
.10 
.15 
.10 


0.0011 
.0076 
.0032 

.oe£7 

.0035 


2.26 
2.70 
2.51 


0. 0180 
.0129 
.0129 
.0108 
.0130 


0.134 
.186 
.222 
.40s 
.333 


0.044 
.113 
.217 
.151 
.0005 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY. 


63 


Chemical  anah/ses  of  important  soils  of  Shelby  County,  Kentucky — Continued. 

EDEN  CLAY — Continued. 


Sample  No. 

Total 
nitrogen 

(N). 

Total 
phos- 
phorus 
(P). 

Phos- 
phorus 
(P)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 

Total 
potas- 
sium 
(K). 

Potas- 
sium 
(K)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 

Calcium 
(Ca)  dis- 
solved by 
N/5 
HNO3. 

Lime 
(CaO) 
to  neu- 
tralize. 

Average,  0-6  inches 

Maximum 

Percent. 

0.117 

.140 

.oso 

.058 
.060 
.056 

Percent. 

0.10 

.10 

.09 
.15 
.15 
.14 

Percent. 
0. 0026 
.0035 
.0011 
.0151 
.0227 
.0076 

Per  cent. 
3.01 
4.25 
2.26 
2.96 
3.22 
2.70 

Percent. 
0.  0146 
.0180 
.0129 
.0119 
.0129 
.0108 

Per  cent. 
0.233 
.333 
.134 
.294 
.403 
.186 

Percent. 
0. 0872 
.2170 
.0005 
.132 
.151 
.113 

Average,  6-18  inches 

Maximum 

Minimum 

EDEX   SILT   LOAM. 


51352. 
6tS5S. 
51364. 
61S65. 
51371. 


Average,  0-6  inches. . 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Average,  6-18  inches. 

Maximum 

Minimum 


0. 100 
.058 
.088 
.058 
.096 

.095 
.100 
.088 
.058 
.058 
.058 


0.06 
.06- 
.07 
.07 
.09 

.07 
.09 
.06 
.  .06 
.07 
.06 


0. 0007 
.0006 
.0006 
.0006 
.0008 

.0007 
.0008 
.0006 
.0006 
.0006 
.0006 


1.51 
1.62 
1.53 
7.70 
1.67 

1.57 

1.67 
1.51 
1.66 
1.70 
1.62 


0.  0052 
.0059 
.0067 
.008S 
.0044 

.0054 
.0067 
.0044 
.0070 
.0082 
.0059 


0.070 
.060 
.097 
.1S5 
.087 

.085 
.097 
.070 
.097 
.135 
.000 


0.017 
.126 
.004 
.061 
.020 

.014 
.020 
.004 
.094 
.126 
.061 


HAGERSTOWN  SILT   LOAM. 


51409. 

smo. 

51411. 
51412. 

6U1S. 


Average,  0-6  inches. . 

Maximum 

Minimum 

Average,  6-18  inches. 

Maximum 

Minimum 


0.106 

.048 
.136 
.158 
.058 

.133 
.158 
.106 
.053 
.058 
.048 


0.04 
.03 
.06 
.08 
.08 

.06 
.08 
.04 
.05 


0.0010 
.0011 

.  ooos 

.  0010 
.0007 

.0009 
.0010 
.  0008 
.0(109 
.0011 
.0007 


1.45 

1.44 
1.51 
1.57 
1.68 

1.513 

1.570 

1.460 

1.56 

1.68 

1.44 


0.0117 
.0129 
.0124 
.0173 

.0083 

.  013S 
.0173 
.0117 
.0106 
.0129 
.0083 


0.130 

.125 
.120 
.266 

.234 

.172 
.266 
.120 
.179 
.234 
.125 


0.002 
.002 
.001 
.001 
.001 

.0013 
.0020 
.0010 
.0015 
0020 
.0010 


ELK   SILT   LOA.M. 


51403. 

Bim. 

25077. 


0.134 
.075 
.180 


0.23 


0. 0272 
.0452 
.0395 


1.43 
1.48 
1.60 


0.  0088 


.0158 


0.123 

.141 
.352 


0.008 
.032 
.003 


HUNTINGTON  SILT  LOAM. 


51401. 
51402. 


0.178 
■  OU 


0.32 

.55 


0.1054 
.2985 


1.54 

1.75 


0. 009S 
.0075 


.0454 

.844 


0.002 
.019 


Note.— No  a\trages  were  made  of  Huntington  silt  loam  or  Elk  silt  loam,  as  samples  of  only  one  soil 
and  subsoil  of  each  were  analyzed. 


64  FIELD  OPERATIONS  OF   THE   BUfiEAXJ   OF   SOILS,   1916. 

Silicate  analyses  of  Shelby  County  soils. 


Constit- 

Eden clay. 

Eden  silt  loam. 

Cincinnati  silty 
clay  loam. 

Cincin- 
nati silt 
loam, 
rolling 
phase. 

uent. 

No. 
51350, 

soil, 
0to6 
inches. 

No. 
51351, 
subsoil, 
6  to  18 
inches. 

No. 

51368, 

soil, 

0to6 

inches. 

No. 
61352, 

soil, 
0to6 
inches. 

No. 
51353, 
subsoil, 
6  to  18 
inches. 

No. 

51364, 

soil, 

0to6 

inches. 

No. 
51365, 
subsoil, 
6  to  18 
inches. 

No. 

51395, 

soil, 

0to6 

inches. 

No. 
51396, 
subsoil, 
6  to  18 
inches. 

No. 
51406, 

soil, 
0to6 
inches. 

Moist 

Ig 

Per  cent. 

1.44 

5.81 

71.78 

11.91 

2.95 

1.25 

.21 

.84 

1.22 

2.72 

Per  cent. 

2.22 

5.68 

64.34 

16. 18 

4.07 

.86 

.33 

.87 

1.63 

3.25 

Percent. 

1.92 

7.09 

60.02 

16.77 

4.71 

1.00 

.22 

.90 

2.10 

5.12 

Per  cent. 

0.85 

4.45 

80.06 

8.67 

2.00 

1.10 

.13 

.24 

.56 

1.82 

Per  cent. 

1.30 

4.69 

74.20 

12.75 

2. 88 

1.10 

.13 

.21 

.52 

1.95 

Percent. 

0.81 

4.21 

80.82 

8.98 

1.80 

.95 

.17 

.26 

.45 

1.84 

Per  cent. 

1.44 

5.03 

73.04 

12.66 

3.03 

1.16 

.15 

.35 

.78 

2.05 

Per  cent. 

■    0.73 

4.74 

79.34 

9.11 

1.84 

1.10 

.13 

.28 

.51 

1.74 

Per  cent. 

1.06 

5.61 

76.44 

10.39 

2.72 

1.25 

.12 

.34 

.65 

1.48 

Per  cent. 
1.11 
5  29 

SiOju 

AljOa 

FesOa 

TiOj 

P»05 

CaO 

MgO 

KjO...... 

76.92 

9.87 

2.40 

.95 

.12 

.64 

.93 

1.86 

Total... 

100.13 

99.43 

99.85 

99.88 

99.83 

100.29 

99.09 

99.52 

100. OG 

100.09 

Lab.  No 
51354. 


LOCATIONS    OF    SAMPLES    ANALYZED. 


SHELBYVILLE    SILT    LOAM. 


51355. 

51356. 

51358. 


51359. 
51360. 


51361. 
513G2. 

51364. 
51369. 

51370. 


51383. 


51384. 


County  line  road  f  mile  east  and  i  mile  north  of  Harrisonville.  Situ- 
ated top  of  divide,  the  lower  slopes  of  which  are  brown  silt  loam. 
This  sample  represents  lower  portion  of  Maysville. 

Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellowish-brown  silty  clay  loam.     Fairly  friable. 

Located  ;'  mile  west  of  Clay  Village.  Brown  silt  loam,  overlying  Arn- 
heim  limestone.     Wheat  field. 

Located  1  mile  .south  of  Clay  Village,  on  top  of  Jeptha  Knob.  From 
wheat  field.  Light-brown  silt  loam.  Represents  material  overlying 
Silurian  rock. 

Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellow  silty  clay  loam.     Fairly  stiff. 

Located  i,  mile  north  of  Peytoim,  on  divide  between  Kentucky  and  Salt 
River  drainage.  On  crest  of  broad  ridge.  Brown  silt  loam.  From 
cowpea  field.    Fairly  well  up  on  Maysville. 

Subsoil  of  preceding.     Somewhat  lighter  brown  than  surface  soil. 

Located  f  mile  west  of  Bagdad.  Virgin  soil  from  a  walnut  grove. 
Flat,  drainage  probably  not  the  best.     Brown  silt  loam.     Maysville. 

Subsoil  of  preceding.     Not  very  different  from  surface  soil. 

Located  J  mile  west  of  Mulberry,  on  Christianburg  Pike.  Level  wheat 
field.     Brown  silt  loam.     ISIaysville. 

Subsoil  of  preceding.  Not  very  different  from  surface  soil.  The  sub- 
soil is  only  very  slightly  lighter  brown  tha.  lie  surface,  and  ex- 
tends to  24  inches  before  there  is  much  change  in  texture. 

Located  i  mile  west  and  i  mile  south  of  Southville,  south  side  of  pike. 
Ridge  tops.  Brown  silt  loam.  Maysville,  lower  part  has  yellow 
subsoil  (probably  Eden  subsoil). 

One-lialf  mile  northeast  of  (.'liristianburg.  Lower  slopes.  Brown  silt 
loam,  shallow  pha.se.    Maysville,  lower  portion. 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  65 

I.ab.  No. 

51385.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Lower  slope,   shallow  phase.     Lighter   in   color 

than  surface  soil. 

51386.  Located   li   miles   south  and   4^   miles  west  of   Shelby   County   court- 

house.    Level   hemp  field,   low   ridge.     Brown   silt   loam,   overlying 
Arnheini  limestone.     Top  Maysville  or  bottom  Richmond. 

51387.  Subsoil  of  preceding.    A  little  lighter  brown  th;in  surface  soil. 

51390.  Located  2  miles  east  of  Shelby  County  courthouse,  on  Frankfort  Tike. 

Near  top  of  broad  undulating  divide.     Brown  silt  loam.     Field   in 
corn.    Well  up  on  the  Maysville. 

51391.  Located   1*    miles   south   and   3   miles   east   of   courthouse,    Shelby ville. 

Brown  silt  loam.     Sample  taken  on  slope  toward  small  tributary  of 

Guists  Creek.     Field  apparently  abandoned  on  account  of  tendency 

to  erode.    Maysville. 
51405.  Located  i  mile  north  of  Olive  Branch  Church.     Brown  silt  loam.     Top 

of  narrow  divide  between  Guists  Creek  and  Wises  Run.    Hay  land — 

clover  the  past  season. 
50672.  Located  3  miles  northeast  of  Shelby  ville,  on  Eminence  Pike.     (Collected 

by  George  Roberts,  Oct.  23,  1915.)      From  clover  field,  home  farm. 

Good  clover. 

CINCINNATI    SILT    LOAM. 

51357.  Located  f  mile  south  and  1  mile  west  of  Clay  Village.  Taken  in  corn 
field.  Light-brown  silt  loam.  Represents  type  as  mapped  in  vicinity 
of  Jeptha  Knob. 

51372.  Located  f  mile  north  of  Burks  Branch  School,  on  Eminence  Pike.     In 

clover    field.      Light-brown    silt    loam    to    10    or    12    inches.      Rich- 
mond! ?).     Well  above  the  Arnheim  limestone. 

51373.  Subsoil  of  the  preceding.     Yellow  heavy  silt  loam  to  yellow  silty  clay 

loam  at  12  to  15  inches. 

51374.  Located  2i  miles  south  and  li  miles  west  of  Simpsonville.     Light-brown 

silt  loam.     Richmond. 

51375.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellow,  heavy  silt  loam.     Richmond. 

51376.  Located  li  miles  south  and  1^  miles  west  of  Joyes  Station.    Light-brown 

silt  loam.     Rests  on  Arnheim  at  4  to  5  feet. 

51377.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellow  heavy  silt  loam  at  12  to  15  Inches  to  silty 

clay    loam.      Above    Arnheim.      The    subsoil    becomes    heavier    than 
typical — nearer  to  rock  than  usual. 

51381.  Located  f  mile  north  and  *   mile  west  of  Cropper.     Light-brown  silt 

loam  7  to  8  inches.     Richmond  (?). 

51382.  Subsoil  of  preceding.    Yellow  silty  clay  loam. 

51388.  Located    1^    miles   north    and    2 J    miles    west    of    Shelbyville    (Shelby 

County  courthouse).     N.  Roach  fai*m.     Light-brown  silt  loam  to  7 
or  8  inches. 

51389.  Subsoil  of  preceding.    Yellow  heavy  silt  loam  to  silty  clay  loam. 

51392.  Located  2  miles  west  of  Toddspoint.    Top  of  broad  divide.     Light-brown 

silt  loam.     Hay  field.     Richmond. 

51397.  Located  2  miles  north  of  Maple  Hall  School.  Light-brown  silt  loam. 
Corn  field  on  a  very  gentle  slope  toward  small  tributary  of  Bull- 
skin  Creek. 

51898.  Located  If  miles  north  A  mile  east  of  Dover  Church.  Light-brown  silt 
loam.  Sample  taken  on  divide  between  Bullskin  and  Floyds  Fork 
drainage.    Hay  field,  badly  infested  with  briers. 


66  FIELD   OPERATIONS   OF   THE   BUEEAU    OF   SOILS,   1916. 

Lab.  No. 

51399.  Located  1  mile  south  ^  mile  east  of  Gleneyrie  School.    Light-brown  silt 

loam.  Sample  taken  on  long  gentle  slope  toward  Fox  Run,  near 
divide  between  it  and  Bullskin  Creek.    Wheat  field,  following  corn. 

51400.  Located   1   mile  south   of  Finchville.     Light-brown   silt   loam.     Top   of 

fairly  broad  divide  between  Brashears  and  Buck  Creeks.  Field  in 
grass — poor  stand. 

CINCINNATI  SILTY  CLAY  LOAM. 

51393.  Located  i  mile  north  and  1  mile  west  of  Toddspoint.     Slope  toward 

Junkers  Run.  Brown  silt  loam.  Taken  in  pasture  land,  badly 
eroded.     Richmond  area. 

51394.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellow  silty  clay  loam  to  silty  clay. 

51395.  Located  f  mile  north  and  1  mile  east  of  Toddspoint.     Light-brown  silt 

loam.  Sample  taken  in  corn  field  near  top  of  narrow  divide  be- 
tween small  drains. 

51396.  Subsoil   of  preceding.     Light-brown   silt   loam,   underlain   by   a   yellow 

silty  clay  loam. 

CINCINNATI   SILT  LOAM.   ROLLING  PHASE. 

51378.  Located  1  mile  south  and  i  mile  east  of  Clark.     Light-brown  silt  loam 

to  6  or  7  inches.  Sample  taken  on  lower  slope  in  a  hay  field!. 
Richmond. 

51379.  Subsoil  of  preceding.  Yellow  silty  clay  loam  at  10  to  12  inches.     Rich- 

mond. 

51380.  Located  i  mile  south  of  Clark.    Corn  field,  top  of  ridge.    Light  grayish- 

brown  silt  loam.    Richmond  area,  well  up  toward  top  of  formation. 
51406.  Located  i  mile  north,  2i  miles  west  of  Simpsonville.     Grayish-brown 
silt  loam.     Sample  near  top  of  divide,  between  forks  of  Long  Run. 

43506.  Lincoln   Institute  experiment  field,   about  1  mile   west   from   Simpson- 

ville, on  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad.  (Collected  by  George 
Roberts,  December,  1913.) 

43507.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Subsoil  red  clay,  perhaps  a  little  yellow. 

EDEN  CLAY. 

51350.  Located  i  mile  north  and  i  mile  west  of  Harrisonville.    One  or  2  inches 

silt  loam  underlain  by  silty  clay  loam.  Slope  near  crest  of  ridge,  on 
which  no  silt  loam  is  mapped.  Color  (immediate  surface  gray)  very 
light  yellow.     Eden. 

51351.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellow  mottled  with  gray  or  drab, 

51366.  Located   2  miles   northeast   of  Jacksonville,   100  yards  from   Franklin 

County  line.  On  slope  below  crest  of  ridge.  Yellow  (immediate 
surface  gray)  silty  clay  loam.    Eden. 

51367.  Subsoil  of  preceding.    Yellow  silty  clay  loam  to  clay,  with  mottling  (gray 

or  drab).     Eden. 

51368.  Located  2i  miles  north  and  i  mile  east  of  Bagdad,  near  junction  of 

Indian  Fork  and  Sixmile  Creeks.  Taken  on  lower  slope.  Grayish 
silty  clay  loam.  Field  in  corn.  Eden.  This  soil  is  underlain  by 
yellow  heavy  silty  clay  (common  throughout  the  Eden  on  the  slopes). 


SOIL   SURVEY   OF   SHELBY   COUNTY,    KENTUCKY.  67 

EDEN    SILT    LOAM. 

Lab.  No. 

51352.  Located  i  mile  north  of  Harrisonville,  on  slope  below  crest  of  ridge, 

which  has  slightly  brownish  color  due  to  influence  of  Maysville  rocks. 
Taken  in  grain  field.    Light  brownish  gray  silt  loam. 

51353.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Yellow  heavy  silt  loam  to  silty  clay. 

51364.  Located  If  miles  north  and  1  mile  east  of  Jacksonville,  on  crest  of  ridge. 

Light  yellowish-gray  silt  loam.     Grain  field.     Eden. 

51365.  Subsoil  of  preceding.    Yellow  heavy  silty  clay  loam  to  silty  clay.    Eden. 
51371.  Located  li  miles  south  of  Southville,  south  side  of  Big  Beech  Creek. 

Yellowish-gray  silt  loam  underlain  by  yellow  silty  clay.  No  subsoil 
collected.  Eden.  Field  produced  corn  in  1915;  not  cultivated  in 
1916;  now  included  in  pasture. 

riAGEESTOWN    StLT    LOAM. 

51409.  Located  i  mile  north  of  Flat  Rock  Church.     On  top  of  ridge  (flat  top). 

Brown  friable  silt  loam.     Tobacco  field. 

51410.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Reddish-brown  to  red  silty  clay  loam.     Upper 

part  6  to  10  inches  brown  silt  loam  similar  to  surface  soil. 

51411.  Located  1  mile  south  and  f  mile  west  of  Flat  Rock  Church.    On  flat  top 

ridge.     Brown  to  reddish-brown  silt  loam.    Corn  field,  now  in  wheat. 

51412.  Located  h  mile  northeast  of  Flat  Rock  Church.    Reddish-brown  silt  loam. 

Taken  on  low  branch,  adjacent  to  Floyds  Fork.     Pasture  land. 

51413.  Subsoil  of  preceding.    Red  silty  clay  loam. 

ELK    SILT    LOAM. 

51403.  Located  1  mile  north  and  *  mile  east  of  Finchville,  along  Bullskin  Creek, 

near  Taylorsville  Pike.  Light-brown  silt  loam.  Taken  on  terrace 
6  to  8  feet  above  first  bottom.    Does  not  overflow. 

51404.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Light-brown  silt  loam  to  10  inches,  underlain  by 

greenish  to  yellow  mottled  with  gray  silty  clay  loam. 
25077.  H.  D.  Rodman,  5  miles  west  of  Shelby ville,  on  Bullskin  Creek.     Rich- 
looking,  brown  soil. 

HUNTINGTON    SILT    LOAM. 

51401.  Located   1   mile  north   and   i   mile  east   of  Finchville,   along  Bullskin 

Creek,  near  Taylorsville  Pike.  Brown  silt  loam.  Low-lying  flat, 
probably  subject  to  overflow. 

51402.  Subsoil  of  preceding.     Brown  silt  loam  grading  into  lighter  brown  silt 

loam,  then  into  yellowish-brown  heavy  silt  loam. 

o 


saJL  MAP 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  026  545   2 


[Public  Resolution — No.  9.] 

JOINT  RESOLUTION  Amending  public  resolution  numbered  eight,  Fifty-si-^Lth  Congress, 
second  session,  approved  February  twenty-third,  nineteen  hundred  and  one,  "  providing 
for  the  printing  annually  of  the  report  on  field  operations  of  the  Division  of  Soils, 
Department  of  Agriculture." 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  Bouse  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  public  resolution  numbered  eight,-^  Fifty- 
sixth  Congress,  second  session,  approved  February  twenty-third,  nineteen  hun- 
dred and  one,  be  amended  by  striking  out  all  after  the  resolving  clause  and 
inserting  in  lieu  thereof  the  following : 

That  there  shall  be  printed  ten  thousand  five  hundred  copies  of  the  report  on 
field  operations  of  the  Division  of  Soils,  Department  of  Agi'iculture,  of  which 
one  thousand  five  hundred  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate,  three 
thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  six  thousand 
copies  for  the  use  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture :  Provided,  That  in  addi- 
tion to  the  number  of  copies  above  provided  for  there  shall  be  printed  as  soon 
as  the  manuscript  can  be  prepared,  with  the  necessary  maps  and  illustrations 
to  accompany  it,  a  report  on  each  area  surveyed,  in  the  form  of  advance  sheets, 
bound  in  paper  covers,  of  which  five  hundred  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  each 
Senator  from  the  State,  two  thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  each  Representative 
for  the  congressional  district  or  districts  in  which  the  survey  is  made,  and  one 
thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Approved,  March  14,  1904. 


[On  July  1,  1901,  the  Division  of  Soils  was  reorganized  as  the  Bureau  of  Soils.] 


